Inconsistent Continuity
by WesternFail
Summary: Looks can deceive people, even if we know that a book cannot be judged based on its cover. We tend to believe what we see and hear about someone, instead of who they actually are. For him, there is indeed more than what meets the eye. This time around, it is an unordinary Umbreon, embarking on a journey to the endless unknown. (An original Pokemon story.)
1. Act 1: The Cabin

**Welcome to my second story, enjoy! This "story" is written in a particular way, where the lack of context done on purpose. Each chapter will be loosely connected through the main character. Here is a hint, he exists in one other story somewhere on this website.**

 **If you enjoy reading this, please leave a review and tell me what you think!**

 **Edit Mar 5th, 2017: Due to reader suggestions, Act 1 will be finished relatively soon, followed by Act 2, which will be a full blown story with connected chapters, so stay tuned for that!**

 **Act 1: The Travels**

The rain clattered against the wooden roof, there he was, laying there motionless against the cold, wooden walls of the abandoned cabin, using his bloodied arm to propped himself up on the floor. He eyes, now filled with fear and terror, staring straight into the gun barrel in his face. His opened his quivering cracked lips, as if wanting to beg for forgiveness, wanting to beg for his life, but it was all too late. Before he could even mutter a single word, the echoes of the shots ran out. The man lowered his smoking gun, looking at the body of his former friend, his gaze is empty, devoid of emotions, devoid of guilt, as if he didn't just murder another human being, but rather an animal, a worthless, lowly animal.

The loose wooden floorboards creaked behind him as someone else entered the compact room, but he didn't turn around, he didn't even turn the barrel of his gun to meet the newcomer, he remained completely still, as if he was expecting him to arrive all along.

"That was no need for that, you know? What is done is done, killing him won't change anything." The stranger spoke, glancing at a piece of broken wooden furniture near the room's corner through his heavy raincoat. "In fact, you just made everything worse for yourself, First Degree Assault, now Manslaughter, you won't walk out of that prison alive. It is a pity, you were the victim. And now you are the perpetrator. It pains me, none of this would have happened if you would let us arrest him, hell, we don't even know for sure if it is him! He might be innocent! Do you know that?"

The man put the gun back into his cloak, then turned around to face the stranger. "I know that…" His voice crackled, "Two wrongs don't make a right… Killing him won't change anything, it won't bring him back… But it will make me feel a lot better, and that is all I am after. And… do you honestly think I care about my own life anymore? After what he did? After my beloved son was taken from me? Ha..." The man started laughing, though it is not a laughter of madness, more like a laughter of despair and misery. It eventually died off as the man resumed, "You don't need to worry about me anymore, for I am not planning on surviving past this night. Goodbye detective, your good will is appreciated."

With that, he stormed out of the room, passing the newcomer before slamming the rotten wooden door close. Leaving the newcomer alone as everything plunged once again into silence… The detective sighed, he reached into his raincoat, pulling out a radio transceiver, it felt heavier than usual, like something was dragging it down, unwilling to let him call for the plan to proceed. "I am sorry, but this is my duty." He muttered to himself as he pressed down the button on the radio, it crackled as communication was established. "Mission failed, the objective is now deceased, sent out the search party, the subject is armed and highly dangerous, last seen heading towards the South of Downs Forest, proceed with extreme caution. Over." A moment of silence soon followed, but was shattered once again as a voice replied, "Roger that sir, do you need an extraction? Over." The detective only shook his head, "Negative, extraction is unnecessary. Over." This time, he didn't wait for the response on the other side, he simply switched off the radio and placed it back into his coat, not wanting to hear what his fellow officers have to say.

Then his ears picked up something, there is the sound of footsteps, faint, but definitely there, heading towards this room, "Why have you returned? Are you here to kill me as well? Heh, I thought you said that you will only kill out of revenge, was that a lie as well?" He paused, waiting for a response, but none came, nothing besides the light footsteps, which is getting closer by the seconds. Suddenly, it all stopped, the detective tensed his body for the sound of a gunshot, for the bullet that is sure to come, much to his surprise, nothing came, almost like everything was just the work of his imagination. He turned around in a swift stroke, only to be confronted by something he was not expecting at all, it is a creature with a sleek black body with four slender legs, its blue rings illuminating the area around it, or else it would have blended in with the darkness. Bright yellow eyes piercing through the darkness, staring right back at him, though there are a few stripes of blue in both of its eyes, radiating a feeling of eeriness. The man was obviously taken back by this change of events as he stumbled a few steps backward, "A… Shiny Umbreon? Here? In an abandoned shack?" His mind raced with explanations, but none of them makes any sense, Umbreon are rare in this part of the region, not to mention a shiny, and most of them reside in the city, not out in the wild, what he is seeing here, defies logic.

The Umbreon in question, however, was not paying the slightest attention to the detective, after the initial pause, it simply ignored the detective, going around him and headed straight towards the cold and limp body, leaning against the wall. It stopped just in front of the dead man's legs, looking up at the deceased human, it let out a small sigh, which gone by unnoticed by the detective, who is paying close attention to its seemingly bizarre actions. However, it did not last long as the Umbreon turned once again to face the startled detective, the soft blue light emitted by its rings promptly increased in intensity as its eyes started to glow with the same calming light, a side pouch it was carrying opened, the one that the human failed to notice until now, and from the pouch, it removed a foreign flower, one that the man had never seen before, and placed just in front of his feet. Its pale flowers are arranged in clumps, a number of short flower stalks spreading from a common point near the stalk, with carving, narrow segments. The light dimmed as its eyes returned to their normal colour, the Umbreon looked up at the detective once more, before breaking the gaze and exiting the room, the human can hear its footsteps fading away from the room, until they are too faint to his ears to pick up, he stared at the white flower, silent, as the rain continue to pour down on the lonely cabin.

The Detective bends down and scooped up the flower from the mossy wooden boards, inspecting it in his palm. The flower is still relatively fresh, but he couldn't smell its fragrant scent in the air, maybe it is too faint? Maybe it doesn't have a scent? The human doesn't know, he caressed its tiny petals with his fingers, being careful to not accidently rip them from away the flower, it is a beauty, a wonderful work of nature that the Detective couldn't help to feel that he had seen it before, somewhere. Then it hits him, this flower… is the same as the ones lying in front of the Gravestone of a Murder Victim whom he visited a few days back, someone he failed to save. Lycoris Radiata, that is the flower's name, said to be the bridging path between worlds of the living and the dead… He went still, unsure about how to make of this gesture made by that bizarre Umbreon, was it mocking him? Or was it simply paying respect to the dead? He doesn't know, and perhaps he will never know, he just stood there, motionless, clenching the flower in his hand, as the sound of sirens appeared over in the distance...

* * *

Rain continued to fell in chaotic drops, the gusting wind carrying them in wild vortices one moment and in diagonal sheets the next, running down his furred face in a thin layer, wetting his coat. It is not as cold as he expected they would be, but definitely not as warm as the summer showers he used to experience back home. Fallen leaves rattled under his footsteps while he navigated his way across the desolate forest, nothing could be heard besides the sound of raindrops as they fall from the sky, and the sound of the leaves as the wind rushed against them, the rings on his body acted as a weak light source, brightening up the otherwise dark areas around him, but he doesn't need it, for he can see right through the unrelenting darkness as it was not there. He continued on, searching for the signs of a specific individual.

Quite a few minutes had passed since he left the cabin, the sound of sirens could be heard far away in the distance, distorted by the wind, making them sound more like the moans of a devilish creature, cornered, helpless. There is no possible way for him to locate the man, any scent left behind would have already been washed away by the rain and the wind would have blanketed any sounds the man made, but he continued onwards, unyielding. A thunder cried out from the blackened sky, the clouds invisible above, lighting up the entire forest for a brief second. He shuddered, the deafening boom seemed to crack the air, as if his whole body might split apart, he was never one for thunders, to him, they are like a bad omen, like a powerful figure is declaring to all beings across the land of the wrath that was to come.

A sound of water splash amidst the storm caught his attention, his ears twitched, trying to pick up more abnormal sounds in the direction of where the splash came from, and much to his hopes, the noise of heavy footsteps, crashing the humus layer on the ground could be heard through the howling wind. He sighed in relief, "...After all, I am going in the right direction." he murmured himself, his footsteps quickened, eventually breaking into a sprint, head straight towards the location where he heard the splash, the human couldn't possibly hear him coming with all these ambient sounds covering him, after all, they do have way worse hearing abilities than Pokemon. His rings dimmed, to a point where they are almost non-existent, enabling him to become one with the darkness, a neat little trick that Umbreon knows, or else their glow would make them a very obvious target at night time.

He eventually caught a foreign scent drifting through the air, faint, elusive, but surely there, a mixture of leather, plastic, gunpowder, and the metallic smell of human blood, there was no mistaking it, he smelled it before, reeking, rancid, yet oddly inviting. His sprint slowed, reduced to a trudge as he sniffed the air, trying his best to stay on trail of the scent, but it just wasn't enough, the scent flicked in the air, before disappearing into the night for the first and last time. Nonetheless, the Umbreon was not deterred by the setback, determined to find that human, he turned to face the direction which he thinks the human was heading towards and continued on with his puzzling journey. He didn't get far before his nostrils were once again assaulted by blood's metallic scent, this time, it is only that scent, nothing else - In front of his path, like millions of red flowers, blooming, droplets of blood lay on the muddied trail, creating a walkway leading to the outskirts of the forest, the rain, gathering in torrents of water, washed away the red by the seconds, there will soon be nothing left if he doesn't act now.

And he was not planning on having this opportunity go to waste, it might be his last chance to find the man, he broke into a sprint, following the path of red flowers before they wilt away by the rain, mud splattered against his sides with each step he took, the thick brown paste was not cold enough to freeze, but stiff enough to clung to his coat, sapping away what little heat they had preserved, soaking in the icy brown water, he shuddered, yet continued onwards, he will not be stopped by this level of coldness, for he had endured worse.

The forest starts to disappear behind him as he raced forward, trees receded from view and replaced by low growing bushes, and eventually rocky flat grounds as vegetation ceased to existence, he found himself at the outskirt of the forest, strangely barren and empty, almost like a line was drawn here, a line which separates the flourished, and the arided. A steep cliff is visible, just up ahead, across the deserted land, it was more like a rocky outcrop which extends from the mainland, hanging high up in the air, rustic and rough. He inched over to the ledge and peered down into the abyss below, he could see nothing else but endless stretches of green, extending all the way to the darkened horizon.

Right at the furthest point of the ledge, sat a humanoid figure, wrapped tightly in a leather coat, his pistol lay on the ground, a few inches away, the man had a lit cigarette in his hand, against all odds, he stared at the cigarette between his fingers, almost short enough to burn him, he blew the last breathe of smoke into the air before leaning forward to crush it out against the wet ground.

"So, Detective," The man suddenly spoke, the Umbreon has no idea how he heard him coming, but he did, "You followed me here after all, which… is not quite unexpected, it is your job after all. But… have you ever thought about that there is a difference between Law or equality, and Justice or Righteousness?" He paused, waiting for a response, a moment of silence followed, the man then resumed, thinking that the detective is not going to give a response, "Equality means that everyone gets the same things and are treated equally. Justice means that everyone gets the share that will suffice their needs and the Sinned or the Guilty will be held accountable for their actions. I heard that conversation you had, Detective, with his Lawyer, you were planning on letting him go. Is that right? And you think I am the one who murdered my own son, is that right? I will not have any more of your lies, so I took the matter into my own hands. You made me do this, Detective. Go head, I know you have your gun pointed at me, pull the trigger, silence me, I will not resist, for I have done my duty."

"...It would be more appropriate for you to save that speech for the actual Detective, human. Don't you agree?" The Umbreon calmly spoke, startling the human as he was expecting the Detective to be the one behind him, not someone else, he sprung around, frantically searching for another human being behind him, he found nothing, nothing besides the Shiny Pokemon who is staring back at him.

"You… talk?" The man inquired in hesitance.

"...Yes, I do talk. Frankly, more than I wish to." The Umbreon replied in the same smoothing voice, quite undaunted by the human.

"You talk… I guess they weren't joking when they said that I am losing my mind… Tell me, are you real? Or is just an illusion created by a diseased mind? Trying to trick me to sink deeper into the abyss? If that is the case, please, just leave me be..." He turned his gaze away from the creature, staring back into the darkness, his shoulders hunched forward, in combination with the small amount of gray, thin hair that escaped from under his black woolen skiing hat, suddenly made him seem a lot older.

"... I think that answer hardly matters at this point, doesn't it? No matter how I answer that question, you won't believe me. Real or not, I am not here to lead you anywhere, or interrogate you about anything, I just want to know, what was your son like? Before any of this?" The Umbreon decided to approach the human, slowly but surely, and laid down right next to him.

The man did not react to the Pokemon who located itself beside him, but visibly flinched at its mentioning of his son, no doubt it pains man deeply to even think about him. The Umbreon thought that he was not going to answer that question, but much to his surprise, his quivering lips parted as he began to speak, "He was… just like any other boy out there, sweet and gentle, though it may sound like a cliche, but it is true. " He paused and reached into his battered coat, pulling out a torn photo of a boy, hugging a puppy, the man gave light smile before continuing, "He was just simply a child, what should he know of death?... His hair was blonde back then, all curled up so he usually plays with it for hours in front of the mirror. He was a tough little fighter, never staying down if he fell or got knocked to the ground by one of his peers. Doesn't socialize much, even if I told him to, mostly stuck to just a couple of friends who didn't mind how old his clothes were. Did I say he has-"

"Freeze! Drop your Weapon and put your hands where I can see them!"

The conversation was interrupted by a shout from behind, the man jerked around to face the newcomers: A couple of Police Officers scattered around the tree line, pointing their weapons at the duo. But the man seems to be wholly unconcerned about the Police, "You should go now, I don't want them associating you with me, I am a dead man, one way or another. You are not." Muttering to the Umbreon beside him, who had gotten back up on its paws, "Here, take this with you," He folded the photo of the boy before handing it to the Pokemon, "I won't be needing this where I am going, take good care of it." The Pokemon nodded and took it by its mouth.

"I said, Freeze!" One of the Officer yelled again.

"Go." He picked up his gun from the ground for the last time, raising it in the general direction of the treeline, it was unloaded, its magazine is nowhere to be found. However, the Police doesn't know that as they fired their weapons in response. The man shook as bullets riddled him, the blood that had once flowed thick and scarlet in his veins was gushing out from the wounds, decorating his leather coat with patches of deep red. He stumbled backward, before falling off the ledge, plunging into the unseen darkness below.

"Target Neutralized, good work, men." The Commanding congratulated his men.

"Sir, what do we do about that Umbreon?" Someone questioned.

"Did the Detective mention anything in his report about the Suspect owing Pokemon?"

"Negative, sir."

"Shoot it."

"Wait, what?" The Officer was appalled by what his superior's command, "Sir, you can't be serious! It might be innocent!"

"When I say shoot! You shoot! You all saw the men gave it something, for all we know, it might be an accomplice! So shoot!"

The Officer sighed, raising his weapon back up and started aiming at the Shiny, all of his colleagues followed suit.

The Umbreon obviously took notice of the dangerous situation he is currently in, but he has nowhere to go, there is very little space for him maneuver on the ledge, not mentioning dodging bullets, if that is even possible. However, he is unfazed by the situation as he had a plan to get him out of this mess. Risky, but his only possible way out.

Before the Police could even react, he turned his back against them and leaped off the ledge in one swift motion, sounds of gunshots could be heard from above, but they are too late, the Umbreon is already gone.

He fell through the air, wind swizzling by his ear, ruffling his fur as he continued his rapid descent to the bottom, he closed his eyes, as if waiting for his doom to come, but it didn't, instead, the sound of wind started to lessen, before disappearing entirely, his paws came in contact with solid ground, almost like they appeared out of nowhere. Knowing that his plan worked, a weak smile crept up his lips, stilling hanging onto the photograph of the lost boy, who is smiling brightly, frozen in time, away from the horrors of reality.

He reopened his eyes, it appears now he is standing inside a small, circular room, the walls are made out of densely packed dirt, roots could be seen growing out them, you would expect the air to be humid in such an environment, but the room is in fact quite cool and dry. The floor consists of oak planks of various colors, worn, but sturdy. There is a patch of straw placed on the floor against the wall, most likely acting to be his bed, along with a low table, a plain wooden shelf located just above the table, decorated with pieces of crystal, minerals, an array of shiny objects, and a small metal chest. His eyes glowed again with the same blue light, removing the chest from the shelf, placing it in front of him, its lock mechanisms crackled and turned without the use of a key. He went ahead and dropped the photo into the chest along with the rest of its content, before shutting it close once more.


	2. The Lab

"Who are you?"

"..."

"God Damn it, I asked who are you?!"

The human kicked the cage in the middle of the room out of irrational, raging at the fact the creature inside the cage refuses to give him any information on itself, leaving him guessing in the blind. The cast iron cage shook under the force of his kick, but the creature locked inside stood its ground, undaunted by the human's verbal threats, its bright yellow eyes ladened with a few stripes of blue staring right back at the human.

"... You asked me who I am, I have answered that, then you asked what I am, which I also have answered, both with honesty, human. I am unsure of what else you want me to answer." The creature answered with a calm voice, seemingly not worried about his current situation at all.

The human gritted his teeth at its response, "Yes, I know your name, and I know what you are, an Umbreon, is that it? But you have told me nothing what an Umbreon actually is!"

The creature responded with the same tone of voice, smirking a little bit, "...An Umbreon is an Umbreon, what more do you want me to explain? It is much simpler than you think."

However, the human doesn't seem to be amused by his response, "Grr… You little insolent… If you don't want to do it the easy way, we will do it the hard way." He then turned to another human standing behind him, wearing a white lab coat, "Men, I want a full analysis of this creature on my desk by 0600 sharp! There can be no delay." The scientists saluted him as a form of acknowledgment of his command, satisfied with the arrangement, the human stormed out of the room, leaving Umbreon alone in his cage in the middle of the concrete room, accompanied by only a scientist, who has now headed off to a metal cabinet, preparing something.

The Umbreon sighed out of mild annoyance, this unexpected change of events certainly added unneeded difficulty to his exploration, not to mention all the precious time he wasted by staying here, but again, all of this could have been easily avoided if he wasn't being so careless , he should have been more careful when entering an unknown complex, a heavily fortified one to boot. It is highly unlikely for him to be detected and captured if he is actually paying attention to where he was going, a primitive trap like a pitfall would have no chance of fooling him, but he is attention was divided, distracted by the fact that he might finally meet another intelligent life form after witnessing nothing but barren landscapes, haunted ruins and abandoned city, for weeks upon weeks without end.

The crispy sound of shattering glass brought him back from his mindless wanderings to reality, it seems like the scientist has dropped an empty vial onto the ground, the man cursed himself and proceed to reach for another one, not even bothering to clean up the glass on the ground. The room he is in is essentially a concrete box, the lack of windows and strong smell of mould and sodden earth indicates that he is most likely deep underground, This research laboratory, if it can be called as one at all, since it is incredibly bare in terms of technology and equipment compared to the ones he had seen, everything here could only be described as archaic, like something out of a bad 1950's TV set. The bare lamps above are constantly flickering, casting an eerie glow within the room, like an old movie reel in a theater, threatening to tear itself apart, there are no futuristic-looking machinery, no grand plasma screens, no metallic flooring or ceiling… No nothing. Only cold concrete slabs placed down to act as floors, wooden beams that are wedged deep into the surrounding walls, acting as support so the whole thing doesn't collapse onto itself, crude metal tables and benches down one side of the room, piled with vials and beakers, most of them filled to the brim with mysterious liquids of various colouring, giving off an rather irritating smell into the air, a smell that is a mixture of acidic and metallic, a dusty computer lay on one of the tables, its screen is glowing a dim white light, a white arrow is at the end of a chunky paragraph, blinking, waiting for further instructions.

The human scientist, on the other hand, is standing in front of a cabinet, the only one in this room, vigorously preparing for the test that is about to follow. "And… Everything is in order for my further examination of this creature. Hmm… Let me writing down its data first..." The man muttered to himself, unaware of the fact that the Umbreon heard everything he was saying, thanks to his rather large ears. The Umbreon knew he has to act now, before it is too late, he cannot allow any recorded data about him to be left in this world, it is quite clear the Pokemon doesn't exist in this world, records of his existence will cause nothing but panic and fear.

Thankfully, the Umbreon already has a plan in mind, probably not the best course of action in this situation, but it will have to do.

The man turned around, this time with an empty syringe in his hands, "Now, little one, I know you can understand me, none of this is necessary if you would just tell the Sergeant more about your species. I don't see why all the secrecy is needed, we will let you go once we know what we want to know."

"...We all know that is not true, human. I know your species, I know that people like you in human society value knowledge above anything else, human crave for knowledge, they have the desire for knowledge, they wish to know how everything works and why it functions like that, Normally, that is good, but once they begin to crave for knowledge and let it rule your life, they are no different than mindless monsters." He shook his head, "Let us be honest here, human. We both know what would happen after I told you everything I know about me, about my species, you would have taken my blood anyways, then you would continue to experiment on me, perhaps cut me open just to see how everything works? Just because I look different than you doesn't mean I am a simple animal."

The scientist obviously wasn't happy about his remarks as his face grew darker as he listened to the Umbreon continuing on with the little speech of his, "Very well, you left me with no choice, if you truly believe we are monsters, surely I can't disappoint you, can't I? In fact, you just made my job much less… boring, if I should say, you will be a valuable part of my research." He chuckled, and began to slowly approach the Umbreon's cage, one step at a time, attempting to scare him.

However, before he could even take his third step, the Umbreon's eyes suddenly begin to glow with a faint blue light, just like the rings on his body that puzzled every human who had seen him, the scientist took a step back out of horror and caution, "St-Stop! What are you doing!?" He shouted in fear.

"...Just doing what every responsible citizen should do, taking out the trash." He replied in the same soothing voice, as if nothing major is actually happening.

Before the scientist could even mutter a reply, the cabinet which was originally behind him has now come down upon him, knocking him on the head and bringing him to the ground as it smashed into his body, rendering him unconscious, but the the human is not the only thing that fell with the cabinet, the glass laboratory apparatus stored in the cabinet slipped out of their position and crashed into the ground, smashed into a thousand glittering fragments, dancing and scattering all across the floor, someone else is bound to hear that.

Surely enough, a set of footsteps could he heard rushing down the hallway, moments before another human came barging into the room, presumably a soldier or a guard, judging by his olive colored military uniform and steel helmet, and the submachine gun in his hands. "What the in the name of God happened in here?!" Only to discover that the only person capable of answering him is now laying flat on the ground, with a metal cabinet over him, unconscious. He set his gun down beside the table and attempted to remove the cabinet from the poor scientist while calling for help, "Som-"

 **Smack**

The guard grunted and fell down with the scientist without muttering a single word, struck down by the stock of his own weapon he left carelessly on the ground, the Umbreon let out a faint laugh, the humans have obviously underestimated his capabilities, and has never heard of the term "Psychic" before. He waited in silence for more footsteps and arrive, but none did, it seems like no one heard the cry for help from the guard, which is good, he doesn't want to attract any unwanted attention. Now it is the matter of getting him out of this cage is he is in, which is surprisingly easy, he simply extended his psychic energy into the interior of the lock and turned it as if there was a key inside, a click could then be heard, as the lock is now undone, he simply nudged the gate out of the way as he stepped out of the small cage, being careful to not accidently step on the glass shards.

The scientist grumbled out something inaudible, it looks like he is not completely knocked out, but as of now, he poses no threat to him. "...I would stay down if I were you, your head is going to hurt after you regained full consciousness, but you left me with no choice, you brought this upon yourself." He informed the human, he was never one for violence, even considered as a pacifist by some that know him, but he will certainly not hold back in case of danger or self-defense. But the human doesn't seem to want to give up as he brushed his hands to the side, attempting to push the fallen guard and the cabinet off him, ignoring the all the glass shards that are cutting his hands. His attempts to free himself was cut short as the Umbreon realized the rising threat and knocked him over the head with the guard's submachine gun, struck him to the ground once more. "...I told you to stay down, and you should have listened." He probably couldn't hear what he is saying anymore, but he rather not to take any chances.

The gun dropped to the ground with a clank as he retracted his psychic power back into his body, returning his eyes back to their normal color. This neat little trick of his has saved him countless times during his journey across different worlds and certainly made up for not having hands, though he never understood how it worked, Dark Type energy and Psychic energy Type don't exactly get along all that well, so it is puzzling to him as to why he learned how to use Psychic from a TM he found at the end of the Dungeon.

" _Now it is not the time to ponder about questions like these, focus on escaping, the thinking can wait."_ He mentally scolded himself for getting distracted so easily, perhaps the constant exploring is finally taken a toll on his mind, he knows that after this whole ordeal is over, he has earned a well-deserved break.

He picked up a set of leather pouches that had fallen out of the cabinet, his leather pouches. They were removed from him without during the time period when he was rendered unconscious by the tranquilizer dart, it appears to him that they were planning on performing tests on its contents after they are done with him, which unknowingly made things easier for him since he doesn't want to wander around the entire facility just to look for them, and Arceus knows how big this place is. Flipping open the cover with his teeth, he checked to see if anything is missing, it certainly doesn't seem like it, the berries are all in the same position as he left them, a couple of rolls of fabric that he called bandages that he insisted on giving him despite knowing that the Umbreon doesn't get hurt all that much, a small ink pen which he uses to take down important information or just notes about something that interests him on this notepad, which is right beside the pen. After ensuring that nothing is missing, he threw the pack onto his back, readjusting it a bit so it fits him comfortably, the pouch is nothing special, made out of old leather and considered by some as deeply unfashionable, frayed around the edges, it surely has seen better days. But all it matters to him is the pouch is extremely durable, never tearing or breaking apart on him while keeping his properties nice and dry, he was never a big believer that outer appearance matters at all, so he is fine with the lack of decoration on the pouch.

Using the human pile and the cabinet as leverage, he successfully hopped onto the table where the scientist left the chart he was supposedly recording information about him, the charts and graphs that lined paper were neat and clear, but ultimately mostly empty and useless, they didn't know anything about him after all, the only few charts they filled out are his weight, height, length and species, they didn't even put his name on the chart, all it says is "Subject 249" near the top, he was right, they never considered him as a sentient creature, just another subject. He suppose he can even leave this paper here and they will learn nothing, but it is always better to be safe than sorry, he ripped the paper clean off with his teeth, hastily stuffed it into his pouches, then jumping off the table and headed towards the exit of the room, he is not going to stay here.

* * *

"Run! Find and join your squad!"

"Now! Let's go! Hit them hard!"

"You heard the Lieutenant! Let's go!"

"Mortal Team! Give me some H.E. on those sons of bitches!"

"Set up here! 430! Four Rounds! H.E.!"

"Hard Load!"

"Hanging!"

"Fire!"

"Hard Load!"

"Hanging!"

"Fire!"

"Drop 4-5!"

"Shit! Smith! I am hit! Medic! Medic!"

"Hold the Left Flank! We can't let them get through!"

* * *

The tunnel was originally lit up by a line of bare light bulbs protected by wire cages lining both sides of the walls, but first they flicked, then they buzzed, before giving out and plunging the entire hallway into darkness dark, pitch dark, the power supply of this facility had most likely failed for the time being, there is no openness, nothing that shines and the smell of dampness perfumed the air, like he just walked into some pit, it is so narrow where it can only accompany three people walking side by side, someone else walking in the opposite direction would need to dip into one of those side room to let them go by… Given the fact if they are not locked.

The walls in this tunnel are in a gray undercoat, perhaps even showing the concrete beneath them, devoid of any decoration or variation, though he is certain it is done on purpose, for this place is anything but abandoned. The floor is uneven from so much traffic and judging by the smell, it hadn't been cleaned in quite a while. However, darkness caused by the power outage wouldn't have masked his appearance if he hasn't dimmed down his rings, they are literally a beacon of light amidst the darkness, broadcasting his location to everyone who sees it, he never understood as to why Umbreon have these glowing rings, it is more of a disadvantage than anything else for these creatures of the night. Sure, it enables them to relax and regenerate under the moon, but there has to be a more effective way of doing so than putting glowing rings all over one's body.

Long and featureless, that is what this hallway basically is, at least on the plus side, besides the scientists and the guard who came in to help, he haven't encountered any more resistance, or any living beings in general, not a single sound could be heard behind most of the steel doors the lined the walls, and those do make a sound is mostly the sound of water dropping onto the ground or the constant buzzing of the vents that are supplying this underground facility with fresh air, which is surprisingly not offline along with the Lighting System, they must be on a different power grid.

A sudden conversation coming from behind door he just walked by made him jump. A sign above the door reads: "Block 3 Planning Room."

"Damn, when will be the power be back on? The engineering department needs to get their shit together, this is the fourth time this week! "

"Relax Runner, cut them some slack, you know how the war is going now, with the damned artillery pounding on our power lines and forward emplacements, there's gotta be a couple of shortages."

"Shut it, both of you."

"Yes, Major."

"I don't want any more bullcrap from any of you, do I make myself clear!?"

"Yes, Major."

"Private Malarkey, take your flashlight and make your way to the engineering department ASAP, I need to the goddamn power back on to read the maps."

"Yes Sir."

Before he could even react or find a place to hide, the door swung opened and a man in the same uniform olive-colored uniform walked out, carrying a flashlight and a rifle. Well, as long he doesn't point his flashlight in his direction, he shouldn't be able to-

The lightbulbs in the hallway flashed, and blinked into existence, illuminating the tunnel, the power has been restored.

"Hey Major, look! Looks like our boys in the-" Malarkey stopped in mid-sentence he noticed the creature that had been revealed by the light, staring back at him. For a moment, neither side said anything or moved an inch, the human out of pure shock and the Pokemon out of pure surprise.

The guard reacted first as he finally realized what he was staring at the possible danger he was in as he frantically begins to bolt and load his rifle while calling out for help, "Runner! Get your Rifle! We have an-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence as the Umbreon grabbed the steel door using psychic and slammed it full force into his face before he could finish loading his rifle, causing his to tip backwards and losing the grip on his weapon, giving the Umbreon the opportunity to rip it out of his hands, gripping it by the barrel and struck the guard straight across the face with the wooden stock, knocking him out in one swift hit.

The second guard wasn't doing nothing as all of this unfolded in front of his eyes, he started loading his rifle as soon as he heard the first guard's cry for help, but he was still too late to help the first guard, by the time he looked up with his weapon in hand, the first guard as already fallen unconscious, his gun levitating in the air, pointing at him, with that strange creature at the doorway.

"...Human, I would recommend you to put down your arms, I do not wish to harm you, unless you give me no other choice but to do so, I just want to leave this facility." He warned the human, keeping the rifle pointed at him. In reality, he has no idea how to use a gun, they never taught him, why would they? He can protect himself without the use of firearms, but the human doesn't know that, to him, he might be ready to fire that gun at a moment's notice.

"Private Dave, lay down your arms, if this creature is to fire, we would all be dead." The Major commanded, standing behind a writing desk, likely unarmed himself.

"Yes… Sir." The guard complied, dropping his weapon to the ground and placed his hands behind his head.

"...Much appreciated, as I said before, I wouldn't hurt you." The levitated rifling suddenly flipped one hundred and eighty degrees and flew right at the guard, smashing into his forehead, knocking him clean out. "...But I rather take no chances." He flipped the rifle again, this time pointing right at the Major, who now has a look of horror on his face. "...Major, I would gladly thank you if you could tell me where I am, and how do I get out of here."

The Major is at a loss for words, he had heard about some talks about a bizarre creature being captured at the perimeters of this base and transported in for further examination, but that is all he know, he is in charge of Battlefield strategizing and planning, not the sciency part of this facility, the fear of the unknown plus the fact the creature just took out two of his most trusted guards without using any visible weapons or breaking a sweat almost made him want to tell everything he knows and scramble away in terror.

Almost.

But he is a soldier, someone that willingly joined the army and swore to protect his country and do what is right, he might be defenseless, but his lips are sealed, many have succumbed to the temptation of peace and lies, others buckled under the fear and surrendered, he is not one of them, his loyalty to his country will not be deterred by the threat of death.

"I don't you what you are or whose side you are on, but you ain't getting shit out of me, do you hear me? You want information? Over my dead body!" The soldier yelled at the Pokemon, wanting to show his determination to resist to the end and trying to scare the creature.

However, he got a different reaction from the creature than what he expected.

The rifle flipped in the air again, its stock pointing at him rather than the barrel, "...Very well then, you have made your choice, I can see that you are a loyal individual to your country, but your refusal to tell me what I want to know in order to deny me information is futile, because..." The rifle stock smashed against his helmet, taking him out just, just like his two fellow guards. "You really should have thought about where you are… This is a room for strategizing and planning… I am sure I can find something out without you help." Surely this so called "Planning Room" can offer just as much as the Major would… Given if he could even find the intel he needed in the piles of maps and documents, he sighed in silence, he will be here for a long time.

* * *

"Sergeant! They broke through our left flank!'

"How many?"

"At least 75! They overrun us! And all guns are out!"

"Make your shots count! We are running low!"

"Goddamnit, where is our support?!"

"Sergeant! Tank! Tank at one o'clock!"

"Cover!"

"Fall back! Fall back!"

"HQ, HQ, this is Charlie! We are requesting immediate fire support! The enemy has driven a wedge between our lines! I repeat, the enemies have driven a wedge between our lines! Requesting..."

* * *

The planning room was tasteful in a strange way, four concrete walls and a bare floor, there is nothing in there that looks interesting enough to catch anyone's attention at first sight, a long circular desk in the middle took up most of the space in the room, displaying what seems to be an overview of a continent, or a section of it at least, littered with flags of varies colours and miniature models of ships and planes, looking more like a children's playground than anything else, he made attempts to read what this giant map is trying to convey, but it's weird symbols and names confused him, he only manage to figure out one thing for sure: This world is at war, and the odds are grim.

Posters and diagrams of foreign war machines and vehicles are pinned to the back walls of the room, riddled with tiny text of analysis and evaluation of performance, a long metal table lay directly under the diagrams with three sets of radio receivers on top, a couple of metal chairs in front of it, and a water dispenser in a corner. The radio he saw here are nothing like the ones he used to see, they are large, bulky and more complex than what they need to be, which does make sense considering this world is not technologically advanced like the other worlds he visited, nor do magic exist, unintentionally making his escape much easier as he is less likely to encounter foes he can't handle.

Piles upon piles of files and maps made his head ache, the problem he has now is not having too little information, but rather too much information, most of them he doesn't need at all, such as reports of troop movement, statistics of amount of Military Supplies arriving monthly, plans of operation, reconnaissance photographs… the list goes on, but these seemingly useless information did enable him to piece together the current status of the world he is in: A war just ended in this world, but peace didn't follow, another war did. One of the two victorious factions is concerned about the enormous size of troops deployed on the continent by the East Side after the war has ended, and the perception Eastern leader was highly unreliable, a plan to attack the East was formed, despite the Eastern troops outnumber them two to one, the plan was passed and put into effect. It was a disaster, the West had suffered defeat after defeat and the Eastern troops are closing in on its capital, the West is mustering everything it can to salvage this desperate situation, but he knows that it is hopeless.

He never understood why humans always wage war against each other, he knows that war accompanied them throughout their history, in fact, he can say that the human history is a history of war, people fought against others for what they believed in, even the mightiest of all empires cannot withstand the fury of war and time, they all fell, every single one of them. The victors then rose from the ashes of those they defeated, only to suffer the same fate. The unending cycle will continue on, until one day, when the world falls again, no one will be taking the wheel, and continue the cycle. Some might say they fight for fame and glory, and some might say they fight because they want to be a hero, but in the end, fame is nothing but a heavy burden upon your shoulders, in the end, it will get so heavy, it will crush you. As for heroes… they are not the glorious warriors many thought they to be, they are just puppets, pawns of a game, a game called war, a game where no one wins. He is certain there is a human saying: "If you don't learn from history, you are bound to repeat it." But they never did, they never learn from their mistakes and errors to avoid repeating them in the future, if they did, the world would be different. Perhaps it is something he is not supposed to understand, perhaps they don't even understand themselves.

Eventually, he found what he was looking for all this time, a construction blueprint of this facility tucked away at the bottom of a set of old reports, looking at it, it appears that this facility is way larger than he expected it to be, he is currently at Block C, the deepest block in this entire facility, hosting Laboratories, Interrogation Rooms, Communication Center, Planning Rooms and Surveillance Center; Block B is right above him, hosting the Dining Hall, Living Quarters, the Kitchen and Dormitory; Block A is the top layer and surface buildings, consisting of Armoury, Barracks, Outposts and Bunkers. There are a couple of ways he can take to reach the surface, but the majority of them will most likely result in tense confrontations or even violent engagements between him and the personnel in this military installation due to their location, something he tries his best to avoid, he is not immortal, he will die if he is to do something wrong, taking the path of least resistance is always advised. Thankfully, there is a path with less traffic than the others, an emergency staircase at the other end of Block C, while he still has to travel through half of the length of Block C, it is much safer than other options.

He turned to check to see if any of the guards or the Major have woken up, they are still unconscious, perhaps he hit them a bit too hard, but in these situations, caution is above all. After making sure the humans are not waking up anytime soon, he didn't head straight to the door, but instead hopped back on the planning table, picked a miniature model of a tank and hurled it into his leather pouches before hopping back down and headed towards the doorway, surely they won't mind him taking a little souvenir.

* * *

"We have no chance! Run! Run!"

"What about the lab?"

"Forget the lab! We need to get the fuck out of here!"

"Steven! No!"

"Leave him! He is gone! We need to get out of here now!"

"Medic!"

"Where the fuck is the Charlie Company?!"

"Retreat! Fall back to town and dig in! We have to hold this sector!"

"Sniper!"

* * *

"All Man to battle Stations, this is not a Drill. All Man to Battle Stations, this is not a Drill..."

The sound of alarm raged across the entire facility.

It wailed electronically along the corridors, leaping out from corners and bends, echoing against the solid concrete walls, blaring and unrelenting, breaking his thought process and forced him to cover his ears to soften the noise from assaulting his sensitive ears, overhead, a small light came to life and begin to rapidly flashing red.

It might be an ancient method, but it is effectiveness is not to be doubted.

Right now, through the open creeks of the door he is hiding behind, he can see guards and soldiers alike storming out of their rooms, dressed up in full marching gear, rushing towards the staircase and elevators, he is lucky that no one considered using the emergency exit, or things could get pretty ugly here, they might to be unarmed, but a forty verse one situation could hardly go well for anyone. They seem to be nervous and fearful rather than courageous to face whatever is to come, he could hear their nervous chatter even from here.

"Are they here Sir? Are they… really here? What happened to Charlie, Fox and Baker Company? Aren't they suppose to cover our left flank while we hold the center?"

"We lost contact with them about an hour ago, aerial reconnaissance and radio traffic shows that they have been overrun by the enemy forces and retreated without orders. We are it."

His words applauded the soldiers, the chattering among them ceased, no one said anything for a while, until one soldier looked up and asked with a shaky voice: "Do we… do now? Sir? Surrender?"

The Officer shook his head, "No, we resist, and fight. We all swore and pledged our allegiance to this country, that we shall defend it to the end, now it is the time to honor our vows. We will defend this facility to the last men, to the last cartridge, death is the fate of all soldiers, a fate we may too, soon embrace. Any cowards, panickers and deserters, leave now, we don't need you here, for those who wish to remain, I will be at the Forward Observation Bunker in Sector 3. Arm yourselves, you all know where your positions are." With that, he turned his back on his men and ascended up the concrete stairs, his steps are heavy, but firm.

The soldiers remained still at first, and then, one by one, they followed his footsteps up the stairs, their expression grim and stern, they all know this is probably their last fight, they are all that is in sight, but no one panicked and no one ran, they will take up arms and resist the enemy, even if they are outgunned and too few in numbers, but it is their duty as a soldier, to defend and do what is right.

He waited until all soldiers ascended the stairs and the sound of a steel door slamming shut before nudging the door open and coming out of his little hiding spot, the sirens are still pesting the hallways, the recorded voice announcing the same lines over and over again, even though they have already done their duty of alarming the garrisons of the approaching enemy forces, they persisted on, the sounds made his heart pound in his chest, like a requiem, a requiem for a lost war.

"S-Stop!" A young voice appeared behind him.

And stop he did.

"Tu-Turn around."

And turn he did.

He is now staring into a face of a man, or at least someone who has the form of a man but certainly not the courage all those soldiers possess. He can see that he is shaking slightly, he can see the fear in his blue eyes, he can see the sweat rolling off his forehead out of nervousness, surely he can't be much over eighteen. His military uniform is slightly too large for his size, getting baggy at places, his olive drab helmet almost covered his eyes if it were not adjusted slightly back. The young soldier is clutching a trench knife in his hands, refusing to take his eyes off the Umbreon.

"Wh-What are you?"

"...Not an Ally or a Foe."

The boy doesn't seem to be convinced by his words, as he refused to put down the sword.

"Ho-How do I know you are not lying? Yo- You didn't answer my question, what are you?"

"... Human, listen, I don't want to fight you, and what are you even planning on doing with that knife? As I said, I am not a Friend, or a Foe, just the wrong creature caught in the wrong place. If I am not mistaken, you still have a battle to fight, unless you no longer desire to fight this war, which I can understand, no one wants to die. But… I strongly advise you to stay out of my way, I just want to leave here, there is no need to make things harder for both of us. I am… sorry for what your world has become, but there is nothing I can do."

Without giving the boy the time to respond, he turned away and continued on with his original path towards the staircase.

"H-Hey! Get back here!" The boy protested, but his shouts were simply ignored by the Umbreon as he began to hop up the stairs one at the time, slowly vanishing from his field of view, but he didn't pursue him, he stood there, staring at the Umbreon until his bushy tail vanished from his view.

He is so close to the surface, he can feel it, he can taste the gunpowder in the air, he can hear the crackling of rifles and the shrieks of guns, he can feel the ground trembling with each shell that fell, he can smell the smoke from the burning equipment, just a few more meters, and he will be out of here, he must have a clear view of the sky in order for his Teleportation trick to function, or else he won't have to travel through half of the complex.

Hopping onto the final set of stairs, he is once again back on ground level, now the only thing standing between him and the sky is a set of heavy-

He heard something.

First, it is like a small whisper, a light screech, then it grew louder, the sound turned into what only can be described as a noise between a primal cry and a shriek, but it didn't stop, it continued to grow as the sound becomes more and more distorted.

"Get down! Cover!" Someone shouted behind him.

But it was too late for him to react, something struck the bunker head-on, first an explosion, then a blinding flash.

And everything went to black.

* * *

"Are you 4/5?"

"No! This is 3/7!"

"And then where the hell is the 4th Battalion?"

"We gotta move! They got us bracketed! Get your ass out of this hole! We gotta move!"

"Fall back 70 dig in!"

"Rounds Complete! We are all out!"

"Do you read me? Iron Fort, this is L-3, do you read me?"

"Get him on his feet! Keeping moving!"

"We have to pull back!"

"Hold your position! There can be no surrender! No defeat! No retreat! On your feet! Damn you! Fight!"

"Sir! We lost Sector 4! Sector 2 and 3 surrendered! We can't hold this position much longer! CO is dead!"

"Arghh!"

"Abandon your position! We are done for!"

* * *

It is raining.

Crumbled concrete lay ash-like on the ground, a cold, wet dust over every inch of ground, there it would stay until the rain washed everything clean again, washing away the horrors that once occurred here.

Cold droplets of water on his fur woke him up from his forced slumber, his hearing is still suffering from the after-effects of the explosion, muffled and hazy. His head hurts, the pain is clogging his mind, making it difficult for him to think properly, he raised his head from ground, shaking off the rubbles and wet dust, he tried to focus his eyes on his surroundings to see where he is and what exactly happened, though his vision is still blurry, he is certain he could see the dark sky, which wasn't there before, closing his eyes, he shook his head in an attempt to clear his vision, it worked, but his vision is still fuzzy, he doesn't know how long has passed, the concept of time is lost to him now. A section of the bunker walls and roof no longer exists, a gaping hole now stands in their place, the heavy steel blast door is severely bent and broken, twisted at awkward angles, lodging itself into the bunker's back wall, the once smooth concrete are now riddled with bullet holes and burn marks, the once formidable defensive structure is now no more than a ragged pile of rubble.

He pushed his shaky body up from the pile of rubble, shaking off the ones that landed on him, and limped towards the opening in the wall created by the shell blast. He doesn't get hurt all that much, plus it is hard to injure himself in the first place, but that blast was more than enough, he is aching all over, especially his back where most of the rubble landed, but on the bright side, his body heals fast from injuries, he should be fine in an hour or two. Reaching the edge of the wall, he looked out, and saw exactly what he was expecting.

The rain persisted, the landscape outside is barren, lifeless, the ground is nothing more than a sea of mud, littered with shell holes, smashed equipment, shattered barbed wires, abandoned emplacements and the remains of those who have fallen on this battlefield, just a graveyard of the unburied and forgotten. Their corpses lay in the mud, in their own blood, perhaps miles upon miles away from the front lines, their parents, brother and sisters are waiting for their return, waiting for someone they will most likely never see, they are nothing but meat for the birds. The trees in the vicinity are nothing but a lone trunk, ripped in half by some external force. From the opening here, he could hear the roars of the artillery in the distance, and the echoes of guns of those who continued to resist.

But the battle was lost, they have failed, the enemy has won.

How many had fallen in this struggle? How much more will follow suit? How many families are broken? How many dreams are shattered? How many hopes have perished?

War will never end.


	3. The Chance

This city is calm, peaceful.

He thought to himself while walking down the lively broadway, brushing past humans and Pokemon alike, going on about their daily lives. The avenue is simplistic, yet its simplicity matched the city perfectly, the sidewalks are paved in smooth deep gray stones, packed so perfectly together that cracks and joints are bare visible to his eyes, almost like the whole street is made out of one long slab of stone, it is not swarming with people, far from it actually, there are a lot less people walking on the streets than he want he expected out of a street of this magnitude. Gold tinged trees lined the sidewalk in an organized fashion, each are of the same distance from the others, shedding away their leaves in preparation for Winter times. The homes and buildings lining each side of the streets are old and wooden, though some more modern looking buildings and low rise skyscrapers with sharp edges and corners are dotted here and there this in wooden colony, they are far from the majority. The asphalt was wide enough for four cars to pass in the opposite direction, but rarely there are more than two or three cars passing the road at the same time, the composition of the pedestrian along the sidewalk is also out of the norm, usually in a world where Pokemon and Human coexist, the human is always the majority while Pokemon are the minority in cities are urban areas, but here the table seems to be flipped, there are more Pokemon roaming the streets than there are humans, some are even wearing clothes or uniforms, he saw a Jolteon wearing a postman's hat and carrying a small mailbag, dashing down the streets, which greatly surprised him, it appears that Pokemon here are more than just pets, but also citizens and workers.

He is surprised, at the least, of how this city is the way it is, normally humans would just abandon wooden structures and move on to concrete ones and huge skyscrapers as soon they have the chance to, and he can see why, they are more durable, less susceptible to fire and cheaper to construct. This world certainly have the appropriate technology to accomplish such a feat, but somehow they didn't, perhaps it is a matter of "Heritage" than anything else? The Umbreon remember his friend told him about how humans are not the same, while some seek innovation, technological advancement, creativity and a way to escape the ancient ways, and some seek to keep it, protect it, retail it and pass it on from generation to generation. In this constant battle and stalemate between the new ways and the old, it is natural for the old ways to give in as the new comes in play, the new will always end the ancient ways, but really do the old ways go down without a fight. This city is clearly an exception to that rule.

Nevertheless, he is content to be somewhere that is safe and prosperous for once, his journeys ot varies worlds never game him a break, always dropping him in the middle of a dangerous situation or always lead him into one, and he need time to figure out how to resolve or escape from said situations, it can be tense and exciting the first few times he encountered them, but it gets old fast as fear starts to settle in. Other times, the world he is dropped in is either a barren, post-apocalyptic wastelands where the only sign that intelligent life once inhabited this planet are the ruins of cities and building left behind, or peaceful planets with no other sentient life forms besides himself, the scenery on some of those planets are absolutely breathtaking, but the feeling of loneliness and isolation soon sets in as the creatures on these planets are either incapable of organized speech, or mistaken him as a viable food source. He really wishes he could find more worlds similar to this one, but wishing can only do so much.

"Umm, excuse me? Mr. Umbreon?" A clearly feminine voice called from behind, causing him to turn around to find the source of the voice among the noise of the crowd, it was relatively easy, since the Pokemon who called him is right behind him, a Zangoose to be exact, a green backpack perched on her shoulders, she appears to be relatively nervous, constantly rubbing her claws together.

He was dumbfounded as to why someone like her would stop him, a nobody on the streets, he is only been in this world for a few hours at best, and had no to little verbal contact with ... just about anyone really, there are no reasons for her to stop him. He could just give her a world look and walk away from her, decided against just walking away from her, instead he want to see where this would take him. "... Yes Miss? How may I help you? I don't believe we have met before."

The Zangoose seems to be relieved that Umbreon is treating her politely instead of hostility, "Oh, thank Arceus, finally someone that is willing to talk to me, you have no idea how difficult it was for me in the past hour. Ok, calm down Vul, no need to get worked up like this, you are only here to ask a question. Now, could you tell me where is 249 Latios Driveway? I am kind of late on my job application."

Obvious, he has literally no idea where that is.

"... I am sorry Miss, but uh… I don't know where that is, since I am..." He certainly can't tell her he is not a part of this world, she not believing him is one thing, calling him crazy is another, maybe even calling the police, "... Not from here, I entered the city only a few hours ago."

The Zangoose only grew more excited at this words, "Really?! You are new in town as well? Oh I am so so so glad to finally meet someone with a similar experience to me! Oh my Lord, Uhh… My name is Vul, very… glad to meet you! What's your name? Where is your hometown?"

...Wonderful.

He doesn't like lying, but there are times when a lie is necessary, it is better for her and himself.

"Well, you may call me Alger, as for where I am from, I was born in the North." He is mentally praying the Northern part of this continent is actually inhabitable.

"The North? Oh my god oh my god oh my god! That's where I am from! Tell me tell me! Back in your hometown, is there lake near by? Lake Nat?!" Vul's reaction told him the shoot he took in the dark indeed landed.

And probably dug a deeper hole for himself in the process.

"...Yes, I remember Lake Nat, my old home is not too far away from it." He can't really say anything else at this point, since he has absolutely no idea what geography up North is like.

Vul first paused, her expression is a mixture between wonder and awe, before suddenly rushing forward and hugged the Umbreon, catching him completely by surprise. The duo's bizarre interaction earned a few weird looks from the passing crowd, but none stopped to question their doings as they presume they must have known each other. Alger had been hugged before, but certainly never like this, hugged by a stranger in broad daylight, her arms wrapped around him, her embrace was warm and welcoming, but it made him feeling more awkward than ever. A hug was a simple yet powerful gesture, it can represent affection, gratitude and perhaps the fragile beginnings of love, but as of now, Alger wasn't sure of what this hug is supposed to represent.

"You have no idea how glad I am..." She tightened her grip on him, coming so close to a point where she is almost nuzzling him, making Alger beyond uncomfortable. "I left the Town of Avalon a long time ago in search more opportunities for myself in this world, you don't know how lonely I have been! I haven't seen someone else from Lake Nat in years! How is it over there now? Has anything changed? How are you-"

"Miss… I would gladly answer your questions but… you are crushing me… Please let go..."

"Oh! I am so sorry!" She promptly let Alger go of her hug, giving the Umbreon some space to breathe again, "I really didn't mean to do that! I just… got excited! That's all! I can't really help it..." Vul bit her lip and looked down, has she unintentionally hurt him? She doesn't want to hurt anyone, she might be a bit too outgoing for most people, but her intentions are never ill.

Alger coughed a few times, "...No worries, you didn't hurt me, I am just a bit surprised at your reaction, that is all. Though it is completely understandable for someone to get that excited in a situation like this. Just… give people a warning before you do something like that again, alright?"

"I didn't hurt you? Thank Arceus… Again I am really sorry about this, but it is just hard for me to contain my excitement! Anyways! Why did you decide to come to Astron? Looking for a job just like me? " She gave him a light smile, there is something about this Umbreon that comforts her, but she couldn't put her fingers… or claws on it.

"...Well, I am merely traversing through this city, I am a traveler, you see. I would like to see the world with my own eyes rather believe in photographs and what other people say, so in other words, I am not looking for a job, but I will, however, most likely stay in this city for a few days."

"Oh! You are an explorator! Oh my, when I was younger, that was my dream, to see the world with my own eyes, but uh… as you can see, life got in the way. Could you please tell me some stories of your travels? Please, I am really interested!" The Zangoose is seemingly growing more excited by the minute, which is not something Alger particularly like, but who can blame her for being curious, but he does need to remind her that she is forgetting something. "Don't you still have… a job interview?"

Her eyes widen as she clasp a claw over her mouth, "Oh dear! I forgot about that! I still don't know where it is! This is bad this is bad this is bad! Uh… Alger, is it? Could you help me with asking people where that place is? I will pay you back! I know the owner of a pub near by and they serve some amazing drinks! Please!"

He wanted to tell her that he is not one for alcohol, since they have the ability to clog up his mind and impair his judgement, but now it is now the time for that, "...Sure, I will help you, but paying me back is no-" She cut him off in mid sentence.

"Oh don't be like that! I always pay back the ones who helped me, that is what my mom always tell me. Now! Question time!" Vul turned and stopped a Grovyle who was just passing by and immediately started bombarding the startled fella with questions. He watched the scene in amusement before remembering he should do the same as well.

This ought to be interesting.

(Line Break)

The dusk is cold.

Alger is sitting on the side of the shaded evening street, watching the already thinning crowd passing in front of him. He can see the horizon out of the corner of his eyes, the Sun slowly sinking behind the mountains as the Moon moved up to take its place, illuminating the shimmering sky with its last orange glow of the day. Along the streets, tall metal streetlamps lay in neat rolls, casting artificial light onto the streets below, adorning the paved ground reach with a faint yellow glow as the sun is on longer able to reach them, it is not windy, but the combination of the coldness and time caused the hustle and bustle in the city to slowly come to a halt.

It has been almost half of an hour since Vul entered this building and asked him to wait for her to complete the interview, the human guard of this building did invite him to come inside for some shelter against the cold, but he kindly turned it down and thanked him for the offer, not because he doesn't want to, the interior of this building has a working heater and a comfortable sofa for him to lie on, it is because he wants to reduce unnecessary contact and influence with the worlds he has been to, he is an observer, not a hero, not an enforcer, he doesn't want his presence to directly influence the events and people in a foreign world too much. Sure there are exceptions, like this case right now, or when he moves to save another creature from imminent danger and he greatly enjoys some of these interactions, but he still tries to keep his interaction with the world to minimum.

He heard a door opening and closing, he turned his towards the direction of the sound and saw Vul walking towards him with a confident smile on her face, it seems like she most likely got this one in the bag. "...How did it go?"

She laughed "Ha! It was great! The manager was really impressed with my experience working with paint, I think I got this one in the bag! You should seen the look on his face when I showed him my artworks! Woohoo!" She did a fist pump in the air.

"You...paint?" This is certainly news to Alger, as she never said anything about it on their way to his building.

"Of course I paint, Silly! How do you think someone will get a job without some specialty? Do wish you see some of my artwork?"

"Sure, I don't see why I shouldn't, if you insist."

"Alright! Give me a minute please!" She hastily threw the bag off from her shoulders, setting it on the ground, before producing small canvas from it and presented it to Alger.

It is a drawing of a Roselia resting in a field of flowers, and it looks just as good as the ones he saw on walls in his friend's house. The flowers are blue and red and their petals fan widely over the canvas.

"So, how do you like it?" She asked, her fluffy tail bristling behind her, showing her excitement.

"... I would say it looks lovely, just as good as any painting in art galleries, you are really talented. Who did you learn from?"

She pull the painting back and stuffed it into her backpack again. "Heh, thanks! They are something that I am really proud of! My mom taught me most of it, she was a famous artist, but she doesn't like the fame and moved out of the city, but in the end, your parents can only teach you so much, you have to experiment and improve on your own at some point. And it is not easy with these claws around." She flexed one of her claws, "Mine are smaller, as females usually do, but it is still tough to learn how to hold a brush with them, but I got used to them eventually. So! Now the drink I promised you."

Alger opened his mouth to speak, but Vul interrupted him again. "Uh-Uh, I know what you are going to say, but as I said before, no one says no to me! I have to pay you back, you have no idea how much you helped me! Come on, the pub is a lovely place if you want to kill some time or hang out with others."

"...Very well then." He acknowledged the fact that he is unlikely to get out of this one, might as well follow it through.

"Wonderful! See? Was it really that hard? Come on, the Pub is not too far from here! I think… Anyways, Let's go!" She turned and started leading the way for Alger to follow.

But Alger has his own concerns about this whole situation. Why is she… acting so friendly towards him and trusting him so easily? If he was in a situation like this, he won't dare to invite her for a drink, but again, it might as be how things are around here, less crime, doubts and sinister thoughts, instead everyone trust each other and rely on each other. But if this society is not like that, then there is only two viable explanations. First, Vul is secretly working for a crime organization and is trying to lure him into a trap, which is highly unlikely, given into consideration the way she is acting doesn't look fake or forced. And the second explanation is…

He inwardly laughed at himself for coming up with something like this, surely she can't have feelings for him, they only met four or five hours ago! They barely know each other, it is impossible for her to develop feelings for him in such a short time period.

Right?

He is no longer laughing, if she indeed has feelings for him, then things could get complicated, fast, something he always tries to avoid. He shook his head in annoyance, maybe he is just overthinking this, maybe she is just a friendly person, but only time will tell.

(Line Break)

"Hey look who is here! Vul is back! How are you doing my friend? And who is your little friend over here?"

"I am fine Alan! Thank you for asking and caring about me! In fact I think my day couldn't get any better! I might have just finally got myself a job and made myself a really good friend, which is Alger over here!"

"...Pleasure to meet you, as she said, my name is Alger."

"That's wonderful! I know you could do it, I always believed in you Vul. You know what? In celebration of that, your drinks and your friend over here is on the house today! Enjoy! But don't get too carried away thou, I am not going to carry you back home if you get drunk."

"Pfff… When did I ever get drunk?"

"You never know."

The crowd didn't pay much attention to them as they moved towards the bar stand, to them, they are just a couple more strangers. The pub itself is quite peculiar, , in fact in comparison with other pubs he had seen and been to it is nothing like them, the interior quite small and oddly quiet for a place like a pub, it doesn't have middle-aged man drowning in alcohol, drinking away their sorrows or hundreds of conversations going on at the same time, all told in loud or arguing voices, mingled together, creating an irritating atmosphere, combined with the heavy rock music that usually blares through the entire pub at maximum volume, he never really enjoyed or see the point for a pub. The crowd and stuff here are mostly composed of Pokemon, save for only a few human customers and a human bartender, he could hear a soft piano playing in the background, and see a faint wisp of smoke twisting and curling in the air, only made visible by the tattered bar lights, casting arcs of golden light in the gloom.

Vul sat down on an empty barstools the lined the bar stand and signaled Alger to follow suit. "Come on now! Alan is nice, he doesn't bite! Which… doesn't really make sense considering he is a Feraligatr, but hey! Trust me on my word! Is that right Alan?" Alan nodded in silence as a form of acknowledgement.

"...I am not scared or shy, just… observing the environment in this bar, that is all." He hopped onto the stool, albeit with some difficulty considering how high it is for an Umbreon, but he got on nevertheless. Behind Alan, the bar wall looks like it is closet, only much larger, covered in shelves, bottles lined up in neat rolls with colorful tops, the vibrant hue of amber liquid seemingly leaking out of the bottle under the intense background lighting.

"Yea sure. Of course you are not shy." Is she teasing him now? His suspicions are dangerously close to being true now, does she really have feelings for him? Alger wants to know the answer, but he couldn't just straight up ask her, he is a living being, with regards to other beings emotions and feelings, he can't just go up to her and ask question like this. And what would happen if she doesn't have feeling for him? What if he is just being extra sensitive? There are too many uncertain variables in this situation, the best course of action is to wait, and see what happens.

"Anyways, Alan! You know what I usually order, The Kicker, please. Thank you!" Vul then turned to Alger, "So! What do you want? Royal Passion? Wrightsville Sunrise?"

"Uh..." He doesn't really know what any of these actually are, in fact the only two human alcoholic beverage he knows are beer and tequila, and he is sure that he cannot handle tequila. "I think I would just go with plain beer."

"Plain beer? Alright then, not really a bit one for alcohol aren't cha? Coming right up!" The Feraligatr ten promptly left to preparing their drinks, leaving the duo alone for the time being.

With their orders now being prepared, Vul again turned to Alger, with a sweet smile on her face, "So, Alger, why don't you tell me more about yourself? What pushed you to become an explorer? Could you tell me some stories about your travels? Please?"

She might be getting a bit too close for comfort, but if that is all she wants to know, he surely can share some of his travel stories, though not the ones that sound too otherworldly which would accomplish nothing but to raise suspicion. "If you so wish, but keep in mind not all of my stories are happy ones, because that is how the world is, it is never a flawless place to begin with. I don't know the exact reason as to why I chose to become a wanderer of worlds, but I guess it has something to be with the fact I never had a proper concept of home, or a place of belonging. My parents told me the world is not always Sunshine and Rainbows since I was young, that I have to learn how to do everything by myself if I so wish to survive, I never got the proper care and love from my parents when I was a cub, but I don't blame them, I don't hate them, they only wanted the best for me, they want me to able about to survive on my own when they are no longer able to protect me, I thank them for doing so. It wasn't easy for them. There was once where I got lost in a forest and couldn't find the way I came in, and thankfully, a Sylveon found me and took me in, she looked after me for about a month or so before she finally found my parents, who have almost given up on me at that point. She also has my gratitude, but… she teases me about the stupid things I commited a bit too much than I would like, she finds it funny, but I am just embarrassed"

Vul let out a faint chuckle at the mention of being embarrassed, "I was like that once, but I eventually grew out of it, you know- Oh! Sorry, continue please."

"No worries. I began my journey not too long after I evolved, I bid my parents farewell and proceeded into the unknown and uncertainty of the world, it is mostly a pleasant journey, but dangers and troubles never left me alone for too long, they always manage to find me, though never hindered me for long. I am going to leave out the uninteresting ones and tell you some of my more interesting ones, is that alright?"

Vul nodded eagerly in response.

And so, the tales begin to flow, he doesn't share his travel experiences all that much, nor does many knows about his travels, he like to keep these things to himself rather than going around and inform everyone about it, but when there is someone willing to sit down and listen, he would gladly share them. He told her about the time where he was alone in a forest, looking for a murderer, only to be mistaken as his accomplice and almost shot up by the police; The time where he was mistaken for the leader of a Cartel and almost arrested; The time where he uncovered a small ruin within a large forest; The time…

When he finally finished, Vul now has this dreamy look on her, she stared blankly at his face, fiddling with her own claws, it is hard to tell where her mind is now, was she listening at all? Maybe she is immersed in the stories he told? Or perhaps she wasn't thinking at all, but instead simply have fallen asleep. But nevertheless, Alger is getting worried.

"Vul? Hey Vul? Are you al-"

 **Slam**

"Your Drinks are here!"

Alan's sudden and loud voice nearly made him fall off his chair and woke Vul up from her trance. "Ah, sorry about that. Didn't expect to startle both of you, but you sir looks like you just saw a ghost. And lady, wake up! Not time for bed yet!"

"Ack! Please don't hurt me!" Vul screamed at first, but she eventually calms down when she realized she is still inside the bar, "Alan… Please don't do that again… And Alger, I am really sorry! I just got lost in thought!"

After regaining his footing on the stool, Alger looked up at the bartender and sighed, "...Then perhaps next time you could please refrain yourself from yelling that loud or slam the drinks on the bar too hard? And it is alright Vul, I understand."

Alan just gave them a hearty chuckle, "Alright, alright, I will admit that I did it purpose just to get your reactions, and it was certainly worth it! But anyways, as I said before, your drinks are here, if you want a refill or need assistance, just yell my name. Now if you'll excuse me, I have other customers to tend to, busy day!" With that, he left the duo once again.

"I am… so sorry about that, but that is how Alan is, he likes messing with customers he has known for some time, please don't hold anything against him. Now! My drink!" She reached for the stem glass, containing some ruby red liquid, a few piece of icecubes and a slice of lemon to the side, Alger can smell the strong scent of strawberry and alcohol in the air, Vul brought it up and chugged down about half of the red liquid in the glass before putting it back down, "Ahh… That is the good stuff! Are you sure you don't want something other than beer Alger? Alan has a talent at mixing drinks."

"No thank you, but I appreciate the offer." He politely declined Vul's suggestion before looking down on his own mug, eyeing the deep amber colored liquid and the golden glimmer of the glass-like cubes. He nudged the mug and smelled the liquid within, it has the mixture of smell from wheat, alcohol and perhaps barley, he doesn't despise liquor in general, his friend told him that, with right dosage, it can bring out good qualities in people, but he doesn't really want to test his words out on himself.

Extending his psychic abilities, he earned a few stares from the crowd, including Vul herself as his eyes begin to glow the same familiar blue, he wrapped the energy around the glass, he can almost feel the the coldness of the drink through his psychic grasp, he raised the glass to take a small sip, immediately, a bitter, yeast, malty yet refreshing taste slipped into his mouth, catching him completely by surprise, the liquid left a controlled burning feeling on his tongue and throat, causing him to involuntarily shudder, coughing slightly. He set the mug back down onto the bar and secretly decided that he will never try to take another sip of beer ever again. "I was… certainly not expecting it to taste like that."

Alan, who was watching from a distance in amusement finally wasn't able to hold his laughter in any longer, "Ha... Not doing too well with the taste and alcohol ain'tcha Alger? Well, if this the first time you drank something like this, it is too be expected, the beer in my pub is a lot stranger than the others, but you will get used to it eventually."

"...I don't think I would ever get used to that." He coughed again, "May I get a glass of water?" He needs to get the strange taste out of his month.

"Alrighty then! Cup of water coming right up… Well, right up after I finish with these customers, hang in there! Pretty sure you can't die from a cup of beer!" Alan laughed at his own joke, but Alger on the other hand, was not amused. Sighing in defeat, he looked away from the busy bartender, only to meet Vul's eyes, staring at him in wonder.

"...Is there… something wrong?"

"You know how to use psychic?!" She screeched out, causing some Pokemon to turn and stare at them in mild annoyance before returning to what they were doing.

His ears involuntarily laid back to protect themselves against the sudden increase in volume,"My ears… would you mind keeping it down a little bit? Yes, I do know how to use psychic, is it a big deal?"

"Well, uh… Sorry! But you have to understand, it is kind of a big deal to me! I always wanted to learn how to use Psychic! It would make drawing much easier for me, so I can directly control the brush with my mind rather than using my claws! Which are fine and all, but it can be awkward to maneuver at times. So! What I want to ask is," She took another gulp from her mug, "Could you teach me how to use psychic in the near future? I mean… if you wish to stay here for some time? "

Alger is obviously baffled by her request, to his knowledge, Psychic is an ability that can only be learned and used by a set collection of Pokemon, and Zangoose is definitely not in there, so it is either she being slightly ignorant on the subject matter, or this world works differently than the one he is from. "...My apologies, but I am a bit lacking in knowledge on the matter of learning moves and abilities, but can Zangoose learn how to use Psychic?"

Vul is a bit surprised at his words, "Of course we can! Psychic is essentially just moving things with your mind, there is nothing complicated about that, even some humans learned to use it with some practice! In fact, I believe that all existing Pokemon can learn psychic, it is not about your typing, is not about your ability, it is about the strength of your mind and how to utilize that strength! You… seriously didn't know?"

"I think I have heard of it before, never paid much attention to it, must have slipped past my mind, apologize for the inconvenience," He lied again, he is not enjoying the process of lying, but as of now, he has no choice. "But as for your question…" He wants to say no, to refuse her, since he won't be here in a few days time, but his refusal came out as acceptance, "...Sure, I will try my best to teach you."

"Yippy!" She leaned towards Alger again, her arms outstretched, wanting to hug him again, but she remembered what he said about hugs, "Oh! Sorry, is… a hug allowed right now?"

Alger nodded in reply, "...Just… don't hug me too hard."

"Request acknowledged!" She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, gently rubbing his back, even though this time around she is not crushing him, it still feel a bit unnatural. "You have no idea how much you helped me today… You are such a wonderful person and a really good friend, do you know that?"

"...No need to thank me, I was merely doing what I could to help out someone else in need." He replied, trying to hold down the feeling of awkwardness.

Thankfully, she didn't hold him in the hug for too long this time around, she let him go after a few seconds later. "You are so sweet, do you know that? And so ver-"

"Hey, Vul! Sorry to interrupt you, but it is very close to Mid-Night now, don't you think you should start thinking about how to get back?" Alan interjected, reminding her how late it actually is.

"Oh really? I have to get back to my apartment then! Time really flies you are enjoying yourself. So Alger! Do you have a place to live for now?" She asked as she drained the last few drops of liquor from the glass.

"...Not really, since I only got here."

"Well, you can stay here for tonight, I am sure Alan allows people to stay in his bar overnight, is that right Alan?"

The Feraligatr just smirked, "When did I ever toss someone out of my bar? This is Al's Bar! Everyone is welcomed, unless you are looking for trouble."

"See? So you can stay here for tonight! I will figure something out for your housing, no need to worry about that! Now, you are a traveler, right? Tomorrow I will bring you around the city! It is a beautiful place, I will see you all later, my friend." She got up from her stool and left the bar in a hurry before Alger could even interject any of her points, he wasn't planning on staying here for more than a few days, but this unexpected turn of events made things more complicated.

"So what do you think? She is a pretty nice gal, isn't' she?" Alan asked from behind the bar, cleaning the glass with a wet towel.

"...I think she is alright, energetic and friendly, albeit a bit too friendly… Don't you think she will get in trouble if she continues to trust everyone she meets? I mean… what will happen if she runs into a criminal?" Alger is genuinely concerned about her safely, going around and believing in everyone can't be good for her in the long run.

Alan just laughed at his question, earning a confused look from the Umbreon, he waited for him to stop laughing, "...Care to explain the sudden laughter? "

"Oh, yea yea..." He set down the cleaned mug on the bar and proceed on to the next one, "Sorry 'bout that, but that question is probably the best joke I have heard all day! You are not from here, are you not?" Alger shook his head, "Though so, that would explain where you would ask something like that, as you are not familiar with the social circumstances around here. You see, in Port Astron, we have no… criminal activities around here. I don't think there has been a murder or robbery in decades, to a point where our police force is only for sorting out small quarrel or to break up a nasty fight. Because everyone here cared for one another, they shared with one another, they helped one another, everyone here knows when to swallow down their pride, we all stood up against what is wrong and fight for what is right, united as one… I know it might sound near impossible to an outsider, but, we managed to achieve that. It might not last forever, but hey, might as well enjoy and maintain it while it lasts."

"That sounds so… perfect." He muttered out, he really wished that more worlds are like this, where everyone would just get along, there will be no wars, and no more sufferings.

"Oh trust me, we are far from perfect, I do suggest you enjoy yourself while you are still here in the city. Didn't Vul promised to show you around the city tomorrow?"

"Yes, she did," He is getting mildly uncomfortable on this topic, though he couldn't put his paws on it. "...Anyways, back to the topic of her, she told me that she knows you personally, how did you two… meet?"

"How did we met? Well, it really depends on what version of the story you wish to listen to. The short version is, she wandered into my bar one day asking for help. The long version is, it was… I think it was a rainy Thursday day evening about 2 to 3 weeks ago, I was just about to finish closing the down the bar, and then this soaked Zangoose stumbled into my bar, shivering from the cold and asking me for directions."

"...She seems to have a tendency of getting lost."

Alan chuckled again, "Oh boy does she now? Looks like she didn't change a bit in these weeks. Anyways, back to the story, so I sat her down, gave her towel to dry herself off, handled her a glass of water and asked her what she needed help with. Apparently, that was her first day in town and… Guess what? She couldn't find her way to her pre-purchased apartment, near the downtown area. Being the gentleman I am, I waited until she is warm enough before escorting her back to her apartment, and from there, the seed of friendship begin to grow and blossom. Not love! I am already a middle-aged Mon with a wife and two lovely kits."

"...Why would I ever think it is love? You already stated in your sentence that it is friendship, not love." The Umbreon is quite baffled by Alan's sudden outburst.

"Well, when referring to seeds growing and blossoming, it is usually about love than anything else, and some folks might mishear it and get the wrong idea, so I just wanted to make sure, but again, you don't exactly look or act like one of those people. Ack, getting side tracked a bit too much for my liking. As I was saying, I escorted back home, and after that, she became a common visitor to my bar, always coming in at least once every two days, bringing in news or just how her day had gone. She repaid my favour a few days ago… despite me instigating that it is ok, she is a persistent one." Alan gestured towards a large-scale painting on the wall of the bar.

It is a painting of a beach, but the fantastic colourings and the usage of paint almost made artwork seem like a enlarged version of a photograph. The beautiful waves are crashing against the soft against the sun-warmed, golden beaches, dotted with gorgeous, shiny shells that have been washed into the shore by the rippling of the water. This painting actually took him far away to another place, a long time ago. A place where fine grains of sand crunched beneath his paws as the waves washed onto him in a steady rhythm, cool under the summer sun, his eyes were on the horizon, where blue meets blue, two opposite places, joining together at least, it sounds like a melody, an orchestral directed by nature, only for the ears of those who are willing to stop and listen. He can almost can taste the salty air and feel it feel the chilly breeze on his furred face once again, he can almost hear the cries of the gulls, circling and chasing after a fleet of fishing ships. "...She is… an absolutely amazing painter."

"You don't say, Alger. She indeed is, when she first brought me the painting, I couldn't believe my eyes either. I frantically told here that there is completely no need for this, and I will even buy it off her if she insists on putting this up on my bar, but her stubbornness won in the end, I felt like I own her, but she is very dismissive about it. Saying it is what any friend would do for each other and she is only paying off what she owned me. Oh! I forgot, here's your cup of water." He pushed a glass mug half full with water in front of Alger.

He gladly took the mug with psychic and drank up its contents, "Much appreciated."

"Arceus… How thirsty are you? Was my beer really that bad?"

"... Well, you are not someone who has an unremovable coat of fur on them, plus the fact it is black, meaning it will absorb heat much faster, I would need a lot of water, that mug of beer wasn't making anything easier for me."

"Ah, I see… But you still haven't answered my question yet, what do you think of her?" The Feraligatr gained a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Alger is once again… well, confused, he doesn't really know what he meant by that question, he already answered it before, "I… don't understand, why are you asking me the same question again? I thought I already answered that question."

"Wait… are you being serious right now? You really didn't get what I was saying? You must be really, really oblivious, what I meant was. Are you interested in her?"

"...Why would I be? Should I be?"

A look of disbelief crawled across the bartender's face, "Are you… Are really serious right now? Are you really just not interested in her?! From my point of view, you two seems to be getting along pretty well, and the logical conclusion is that you should be at least have a slight interest in her!"

"... I am not planning on starting a relationship, never had one, didn't plan on having one."

"What? How old are you now, in your early 20s? You gotta start somewhere, young Mon."

"Yes… I am in my early 20s, but my point still stands, I currently hold no interest in starting a relationship, Vul might be a really nice person and a friend, but that is it."

Alan looks oddly defeated, "Well, if you say so, will it really hurt for you just to live a little bit? I mean, having a relationship is basically a huge chunk of your life, but it is still your choice in the end." He turned to check the clock on the wall. "It is really getting late now, if you so wish to sleep, just pick one of the couches over there," He pointed towards a line of comfortable looking couches near the walls, "And if you need something, just call my name, alright? Good night!"

"...Thank you for your hospitality, good night to you as well." Alger begged him goodbye before hopping off the stool and head towards the couches, he made himself comfortable on it, curling into a furred ball and quickly descend into sleep.

Tomorrow is another day.


	4. The Friend

What he is seeing right now, right in front of him, defies any form of explanation he can provide.

How is this possible? He is well aware that the universe is infinitely large and the possibilities are countless, but this? Alger doesn't know what to make of it, this is impossible, yet the impossible is now standing there, staring right back at him. During his travels, many of his old beliefs had been shattered by what he had seen, it seems that another one is about to follow suit.

For once in a very long time, he is actually getting scared, it is an irrational fear of the unknown, if he gets to the bottom of this, there will be nothing left to fear, he knows that, but he just can't shake himself free from the grasp of fear.

With his mind in a stage of surging perplexity, he reached his front paw forward, wanting to touch the figure in front of him to confirm that he is indeed real, not some illusion produced by his mind, but the figure simply backed off a bit, letting his paw fall back down again.

"What're you trying to do?"

...Even his voice sounds the same.

No, he has to get to the bottom of this, he has to figure out what in the name of Arceus is going on.

"...Who are you?"

"Who am I?" The figure giggled, "Funny thing is, I was about to ask you the same! And why do you look just like me, did you come out from a mirror or something?"

The figure's blue rings are slowly softly, a familiar pair of yellow eyes, ridden with blue strips stared back into his. He cocked his head slightly to the side and asked, "My name is Alger! Nice to meet you doppelganger! What's your name?"

What has he got himself into this time?

* * *

He doesn't understand how this could have happened, everything about this world seems normal to him at first, it is most likely to be autumn times around here, a frosty chill hung in the air, but not as merciless as the winter breeze, the strong intense scent of the resin perfumed the entire pine forest, filling the wild with a scent that didn't belong here. The woods is calm and beautiful, White Spruce, Tamarack, Red Pine and White Pine formed a gregarious mix of trees, stretching on from as far as he can see through the densely packed woods, it is almost like Nature's secret garden, a place for it to plant and create amazing wonders. The shadows casted by the canopies of Pines, low lying shrubs and dry brown pine needles covered the forest floor, giving the ground a rather irritating texture to stand on composed most of the forest ground level, it seems like a barren place, but it is also where everything started, from the point when the first seed spurted to the stage where the last needle fell, the soil is the beginning and the end of everything in this forest. The autumn sun is high up in the sky, shading into the pale sky with a soft taint of warm yellow.

There is lake near by, a thin layer of frost still hangs onto the surface of the water, distorting the reflection of tall pines surrounding the lake. As the ind came, the needles and leaves danced to the beat of the wind, coupled with the sound of running water in the stream leading into the lake, this place is an perfect example of tranquility. The Pokemon around here were quite cautious of him, they are quite interested in figuring out their who their new visitor is, as his scent is strange and distant to the, a few Fletchling even dared to approach him to get closer to have a look at him, the so called "foreign creature" who was disturbing the peace of the forest, but none of them had a conversation with him, or had the desire to.

That is until this guy showed up.

When he first jumped out of the bushes and spooked him, he honestly thought that his eyes had tricked him, because the figure looks just like himself, he closed his eyes and tried again, but the figure didn't go away, he is still there, staring at him with a curious expression on his face.

And that brings him back to the present times, he is still here, so is his namesake… sort of, though he seems to have lost his interest on Alger and instead have focused on making small heaps of fallen needles and jumping into them, giggling in the process. Alger wouldn't help but to feel slightly annoyed at the sight, surely, he looks like him and sounds like him, but he acts nowhere like him, it is a strange feeling to see what is basically your body doing things you would never do, it is like someone copied him and place a new mind into the new body.

"...Hey, Hey!" He had to raise his voice a bit to catch his namesake's attention, who had just finished jumping into another heap of leaves, he climbed out of it, shaking himself clean of any needles that stuck to his fur before turning to Alger, still with a small smile on his face.

"Hey! So… what do you need? And you haven't told me your name and why you look just like me! It is kind of funny to see another me just walking around."

"... My name is Alger… just like yours. And I really wish I have an answer to your question, but I am just as baffled to as why you look just like me. However, you are not me, and I am not you, we might look the same, sound the same, but we are different, understand?"

"Your name is Alger as well?" The other Alger had a glimmer of excitement in his eyes, "Yay! This is amazing! We could be best pals forever!"

Alger inwardly cringed at his words...How in the name of Giratina is this possible?! How can someone with identical physical traits to him act so differently and unbearable? This trip… if he is even going to follow it through, is going to be a mixture between Cringe-fest and mental torture. "...Alright, friends? Maybe, best 'pals'? Not so much..."

"Aww… You are no fun! Why are you so serious at all times? Why can't you just loosen up? Like me? Being serious is no fun at all! I would expect my doppelganger to be more like me… I am kind of lonely around here."

"...Being serious or not is my choice, and I think being serious is more a lot more helpful in situations than being relaxed and having fun, and I have already mentioned to you that I am not you, I am just someone that looks like you… who also uses the same name and have the same voice. But… how are you lonely here? I have only been here for… about an hour or so and I have already seen quite a few Pokemon, not counting you, is it not possible for you to find someone to play with?" Well, if no one wants to play with him, there has to be a reason for that, right?

"Well… no one wants to play with me, because… they are all kind of scare of me… But hey! At least you will be here for me, right?"

To an outsider, this must be an pretty amusing sight, two physically identical Umbreon with vastly different personality conversing with each other

"Uh… sure, I will be here for you, but they said they are scared? How so? Is there a reason for their fear?" He couldn't think of anything that the other Alger would have done to scare off the whole forest… unless he done nothing.

"Well..." The other Alger looks a bit guilty, "It is partially my fault that any of this is happening, my mom told me not to wander too far away from the Black Forest, but that's no fun! The Black Forest is just borrrring! But I mean, I can't fault them for treating someone from the Black Forest that that."

"...Isn't that, for a lack of better word, a bit prejudice? From what you are telling me, it seems like they are scared of you and judging you without even knowing you, making judgement about someone just based on where they are from."

However, instead of agreeing with him, the other Alger just cast his a strange look, "Ha, you are funny… That is a joke right? Have you been living under a rock or something? Even I know the relationships between the two districts, and I am only 19!"

This conversation between him and this… other version of himself is getting more and more disorienting and irritating as it continues on, "...I think you are the one joking, given my… past experiences, I might as well be living under a rock for the past 10 years or something. And what do you mean by you are only 19? Isn't that way past adult stage?"

Alger just stared at his counterpart with a funny look, "Huh, you are really weird, do you know that? You know nothing! You might as well be from another world!"

...He is actually not quite far from the truth.

"Oh well, might as well do you a favour and answer your questions for you now! Story time with Alger! Oh how I love telling stories! My mom always tells me bedtime stories..."

...Is he literally having no idea how hard he is cringing at his words?

"Anyways, pretty sure that is off topic. I will start with you second question, cause being organized is just plain and uninteresting. No silly, I don't know who taught you how this world works, but we usually live up to 200 years, 300 if some of us got lucky, so being 19 is super duper young! How old are you? 20? 21? You are only a few years older than I am! As for your first question, hundreds upon hundreds of years ago, our ancestors was a part of a greater civilization that used to roam the planet, it could have lasted hundred years more, but according to mom, the owners of this civilization, a group of creatures called Humans could never get along with each other, and then something went wrong… I am not sure what it is, not even mom and grandpa, they begin to wither and fade out of the face of this planet, first a village, then a town, then entire cities and settlements, it did take a long time for them to ceased to existence, leaving our ancestors and their cities behind."

"...But, that does tell m-"

"Ack! Not finished yet! Patience! As I was saying, they just slowly vanished and never seen again, so our ancestors decided to take matter into our own hands for the sake of everyone's survival, but differences occurred and intervened again! I guess it is not only those Humans that have that trait, our ancestors separated into two groups, one group wishing to abandoned the human tradition and live in the wild, namely the Vitae District we are in right now, and the other group wish to maintain the old ways of the human, namely the Iarann District, where I was from! There is also a Grey District to the South, but it is mostly a weirdly barren land that no one wishes to visit. So from that point on, the world is divided between the two, but no real conflict emerged, in fact, as of now, almost everyone agrees that the whole District thing is unnecessary, but no one really want to step out and try to merge the Districts. And that is it for the story of the world! Though Mom tells it in a much better and interesting way."

So this one is another divided world, though different in nature than other ones he visited, he felt like the world could be whole again if the inhabitants of this actually tried to, but it seems like they just don't really care at this point. "... You said one group supports living from from human traditions while the other group want to continue practising it, how is that reflected in the society today?"

"Good Question! But it is a question you will only get half of the answer to! Because… well," He gave him a small nervous laugh, "This is actually the first time I crossed over the border, dad always kept a close eye on me, most of the time at least, so I took a chance when he wasn't looking and snuck out of the house and into this forest! Don't blame me, sometimes they are a bit too overprotective of me."

Well, at least curious side of him didn't change at all.

"According to grandpa, at first we just moved into the old human buildings, but we soon found out that won't work for long, so some of us dug into the knowledge supplies the humans left behind in forms of books and reshaped our part of the world to suit our needs, we built smaller towns scattered around the forested or fertile areas of the land, and left most of the cities to rot, seeing how we really don't have a use for them anymore, you can still find abandoned human structures here and there outside the city, but most of them are in really bad condition to where you can't even tell what it is supposed to be, unless they were inhabited by some of the last remaining humans on this planet. We never really built big concrete structures or skyscrapers like the ones in the cities, we just went with small houses made out of stone, wood, and whatever we can scrounge up from the city, you will see when I get home."

"...If that is the case, don't you think you should head back home now? Your parents must be worrying sick, that is quite immature of you, running off like that, and besides, you said you never been to this part of the world, who knows what dangers might be lurking out here."

"Pff… My parents? I am pretty sure they have gotten used to me disappearing and appearing out of the blue to a point where they are just not worried about me going out of their sight for 4 to 6 hours, but… yea, you are kind of right, I should get back, I can introduce you to my parents! Could you imagine the look on their face if they see there are two of me? I bet my mom is going to faint out of shock! It is going to be so fun to watch! And we are certainly not a hurry, this forest is not dangerous, most of the Pokemon here poses no harm to us!"

"...What about that Ursaring lurking behind that tree trunk?" Alger gestured towards a tree about a couple dozen meters after from the clearing they are standing in, but it doesn't seem like anyone is behind it.

"Hmm?" His namesake turned around to took one good look at the Pine Tree, standing erect from the ground, its branches covered in olive green needle, sparkling under the warm sunlight as moisture in the air condensed on their surface, wavering back and forth with sudden gusts of wind on the forest, but he could see no one, he couldn't even smell a foreign scent the air, turning his head back, he cast Alger a weird look, thinking he is just overreacting or just paranoid. "Lessen up would you? There is nothing worth fearing here, why so tense?" He ignored Alger's warning and started walking towards the direct of which the tree is in.

But he didn't get every after before Alger caught up with him and stepped in front of him, stopping him on the spot, "Hey! What are you doing? Haven't you seen that there is no one behind that tree?" He protested against his sudden movement and attempted to get around him, but Alger would have none of that, "Shush, and don't move." He muttered to his namesake with a stern voice.

And thankfully, this time he listened and stopped his advance, albeit slightly unhappy about Alger being so unnecessarily cautious. "I am just gonna wait for the look on your face once you figure out there is nothing behind it..." He muttered to himself while watching Alger making his stance against the supposed figure behind the tree.

Alger begin to charge up a shadow ball in front of his mouth, an attack he hasn't used in a very long time, since Psychic is enough to take out the enemy he is up against, but this time, he might be needing it. The crackling purple sphere of volatile energy grew to roughly the size of of his head before stopping, then he wrapped his psychic energy around it, pulling the sphere to the side, saving it for later use. "...I would suggest you to move out of your cover, Ursaring. It would make things easier for all of us." He spoke towards the tree, waiting for an response from the Pokemon. A few seconds passed, and no words are spoken in return.

His namesake have some sort of smug expression on his face, "See? I told you so, you are just-"

"You are quite the observant one, aren't you, intruder?" A new voice echoed from behind the tree as an fully grown Ursaring slowly revealed himself to the two Umbreon, dwarfing them in size completely, his eyes have an unreadable glint in them, but it is making Alger inwardly shudder.

"...Who are you? And what do you want? If you want us gone, we are just about leaving, there is no need for violent-"

"Cut it, would you?" the Ursaring cut him off, crossing his arms in front of his chest "We all know why you two are here, you are from the Iarann District, aren't you? I can smell that unnatural scent off both of you, perhaps you are here to scavenge our food source? Or maybe even murder one of us who got in your way in the process?"

The other Alger doesn't seem to be too pleased about his words, "Now hang on! I was only here to find someone to play, and my look-alike here just appeared out nowhere! Plus he is incredibly ignorant of what has been happening in this world, how can we possibly do something like that?"

The Ursaring just waved him off, "Say no more, I am tired of your lies and tricks, you people brought nothing but unrest to this world, your previous masters ended themselves, and somehow you lot didn't abandon them like plague as we did, but to embrace their legacy? Your District is sick. You might be only a kit, but your age does not excuse you from the crimes you commited!" He is getting more and more aggravated as his speech went on, getting into a battle stance.

Alger stepped forward, ready to intervene if a fight is imminent, and by the looks of it, it is unavoidable, but his look-alike just laughed at him, earning a slightly irritated look from Alger, he was vouching to protect him without him even asking, and he is laughing at him for it? "Ha! You really think I can't defend myself? I might be young, but I know a thing or two about combat and self-defence, I would rather handle this situation by myself, if you don't mind."

Alger is a bit concerned about his overconfidence in a battle like this, "...Are you sure? Has no one told you to not underestimate your opponent? I remember someone once said 'Never underestimate your opponent, you can't be over prepared when going into a battle that has a doubtful outcome, an enemy will always remains as a threat, until he or she is no longer an enemy.', but… he still got over confident, and he payed for it."

"Pff… I will be fine! Seriously, you are start sounding like mom! I have handled way larger opponents than him, and besides," He cranked his neck, "Haven't found a real fight in months. Just… wait in the background, I will call you when I need your assistance."

"...If you so insist, but don't say I didn't warn you." Alger broke off with his namesake and retreated a dozen meters back, keeping the shadow ball nearby in case. Perhaps his look-alike does have a few tricks up his sleeves… despite the fact that he is actually not wearing clothes, he might have underestimated his combat abilities just by judging his outward appearance and behavior.

Alger looked up at the Ursaring and gave him a smile, "Come on now! I know you are a gentleman because you wanted for us to come up with a plan! And don't worry, this is going to be an one on one battle, I will even let you got first! I am waiting~"

The Ursaring looks a bit amused at his words,"Heh… Confident, aren't you not? But let's see if that confidence will save you in battle! You talk the talk, but do you walk the walk?" He flashed his claws and charged straight at Alger, moving at a surprisingly fast speed for someone his size, but Alger made to attempts to dodge or even move out of the way of his attacks, in fact, he looks kind of… well, bored. The massive bear Pokemon waited until he was almost just in front of the Umbreon before skitting to a stop, using the remaining momentum of the dash to aid his attack as he brought his claws down upon him.

Alger almost gave a yep of surprise as he was ready to sent his Shadow Ball forward and intervene in order to save his namesake's life, but he stopped when he saw that his figure is no longer there as the Ursaring's claws missed, cutting through the air of where he was. He blinked once, and his namesake vanished? Well… it is possible, if he can… he noticed there is something on the Ursaring's left shoulder that wasn't there before, his look-alike, lying casually on his enemy's should like nothing is happening.

Alger yawned as he spoke to the confused Ursaring, "Sloppy, you know? Your movements and attacks are just sloppy, you might be fast for your size, but too slow! Who trained you? They deserve to be retrained themselves."

The Ursaring finally realized that his enemy has somehow apparently onto his shoulders, "You little annoying-" His right paw reached to grab the Umbreon, wanting to throw him off his shoulders.

"Too slow!" The same thing happened again, just before his paws could reach him, Alger disappeared and reappeared back onto the ground, "I told you, you are too sluggish to ever catch me, how about we stop this nonsense now so we can all be friends again? And let us go?"

"Never! I will not let one of your kind slip by me! Grr… Stop teleporting all over the place! Fight me like the male you are!" He twisted his body and lunged at him again.

But he missed Alger again as he landed face first onto the ground, with Alger now on his back, "Does it matter if I don't fight you like a male? What do males fight like anyways? I am male, and this is my fight style! And bedeis, there is no fun fighting like that, I like watching you fall and fail!"

And the next thirty minutes or so are just similar things like this repeating over and over again, as the Ursaring tried again and again to hit Alger, but he just teleported out of his way and taunted him even more, it was entertaining at least, but Alger himself was soon getting bored of it, thankfully, it seems like the Ursaring can't last much longer, Alger had exhausted him with his constant teleporting and taunting, both mentally and physically.

The Ursaring collapsed onto the ground, panting and defeated, the other Alger walked up to his face and asked, "So… Have you finally noticed that this entire battle is pointless and we should just be friends? And finally let us go? Please?"

"Ne… Never, I can… still fight..." He struggled to get back up, but his body has reached its limit and will not obey his command.

"Aww… come on, stop doing that, you are only hurting yourself!"

"N...No..."

"Oh well, you left me with no choice, hey Alger!" He called out to the other Umbreon lying down on the edge of the clearing, almost falling asleep, "Still awake? Good! I might need your Shadow Ball, finally! I know, but he's got some stamina, would you please knock this poor fella out? It looks like he is never going to give up until he is knocked out. Stubborn, you know? A common trait for Ursaring."

"...Sure... Just give me a minute here." Alger shook his head, trying to clear the little bit of sleepiness out of him, it is surely fascinating for him to witness the teleportation abilities of his namesake, despite the almost identical physical appearance between the two, they are still very much two separate beings with vastly different abilities and personality. He has the ability to teleport as well, though it can only be used for instantaneous, long distant travels between planets and galaxies, while he seems to be able to make short distance teleportation, he needs to ask him about it, but now, taking out the Ursaring should be his number one priority.

Alger went and checked if the Shadow Ball contained in his psychic field is still stable or not, thankfully, the purple energy sphere appears relatively intact within the containment field, he brought it up in front of him, aiming up his shot to ensure he won't miss before hurling the Shadow Ball straight at the downed Ursaring, letting it break free from his psychic grasp. The shot flew true as it struck the back of the Ursaring's head, knocking him out completely, ending the poor fella's persistent yet unreasonable effort to stop from from leaving.

The other Alger approached the unconscious Ursaring slowly after he had been bit by the Shadow Ball, after confirming the Ursaring is indeed down and out, he raised his head up and gave Alger a smile,"Awesome! Thanks for the assistance! I don't really want to hurt him, he is just misguided by his beliefs and his environment."

Alger walked back to the clearing where the battle took place, though it is more of a taunt than a battle as his look-alike just toyed with the poor Ursaring until he is utterly exhausted and collapsed onto the ground due to it, "... You surely display an interesting mix between agility and versatility, even so, I do still have some questions, how did you acquire your ability to teleport? And who taught you your way of fighting?"

"You really don't know anything, do you? Well, be glad that you are with me and not my brother, he hates explaining things to other people." He has a brother? Alger is certain that he doesn't have a brother or a sister, this look-alike definitely only shares his appearance, nothing else, "Here is the deal, most of us living within a certain area of the Iarann District will gain some form of extra ability in addition to our Pokemon ones during some stages of our lives, I discovered mine when I was 12! Saved me from falling off a tree, you should have seen how shocked my family is when they saw me disappearing and appearing out of nowhere. According to my grandpa who visited us on the weekends, it wasn't always like this, our ancestors who settled on this land never had this extra ability, that is until a fierce thunderstorm came and wrecked an abandoned human building out in the deserted part of the city, we could never quite figure out what it is for, but suggestions is that it is used to generate power. About one or two month after that incident, the first Pokemon with an extra ability appeared, hmm… Who was it who was it… Oh well, can't remember his name, but it doesn't matter, I think he was a Luxray who gained the ability to pause time for a short while in a small area, and it just grew from there. For some unknown reason, these kind of additional abilities only appears to Pokemon in my home region, and nowhere else, plus it is not guaranteed that you will get an ability, weird right?"

"...Yes, weird indeed." Alger replied, but didn't say much, he think he knows what that building that was destroyed in the thunderstorm might be, and if it is indeed what he think it is, then that area might be dangerous for him to stay for an extended period of time, "... How long ago did the thunderstorm occur? And has there been an increase in Pokemon passing away or disease?"

His look-alike give him a wary look again, kind of disturbed by the question he asked, but he answered nevertheless, "Let me count… My father is… one hundred and two years old this year… And he heard it from his dad… About seventy years ago? I would say? No one really knows for sure as no one really care about what happens in the Ruined City. The humans started to disappear And why would you ask something like that? You are even weirder than I originally thought, but mom told me it is not polite to not answer other people's questions, so… The answer is no, I am pretty sure that my dad even complained about overpopulation in some parts in our region, but where I live is fairly less populated."

"...My apologies for getting you uncomfortable, but my curiosity got the better of me, should we get a move on? Your parents must be getting worried at this point, and I suggest we better move before this Ursaring wakes up again."

"Oh yea! Sure sure, just follow me! I know the way, onwards to victory!" His alternative self then dashed off towards a certain direction, not giving him any bit of forward warning, Alger can't say that he hates this version of himself, but he can't bring himself to say that he likes him either, he is a bit too energetic for his liking…. But why is he comfortable around Vul then?

He shook his head, now it is not the time for that, "...Hey! Wait up for a bit!" He yelled at him before going off, chasing after his footsteps into the forest.

* * *

"Hey Alger! Look what I found! You really won't believe it this time!"

He groaned in annoyance, this is the fourth time they have stopped in order to view of some his alternate self's "discoveries", he doesn't get irritated all that often, but this is pushing it, he would have been fine with it if the things he found are actually interesting and worth his time for him to stop and look, but they are not. The first time they stopped for a rock that looks slightly strange, only because it has moss all over it; The second time a rotting fallen log halted their advance as his look-alike get curious over a funny looking mushroom growing out of the tree trunk and made the attempt to eat it before he stopped him; The third time he insisted that he heard something when there is absolutely no one around them. He is… literally a more childish version of himself, but he will never know how did he survive these 19 years acting like this, now what did he find this time around? Maybe a dried up stream?

"...What is it this time? I think I already told you that we don't have much time left for exploration." He is trying really hard to hold down his irritation towards his namesake.

Alger voice echoed back, he is pretty far ahead of him, "Oh you won't believe it this time! I found a ruin! A human village by the clearing near a stream! Come on now! I won't wait for you forever!"

A ruin? He is only hoping it is an actually ruin and not just some rotting logs all over again. He quicken his pace to catch up with him, pushing past the dense low lying shrubs that is blocking his line of sight so he couldn't see what Alger has discovered until he gets out of woods, "I am coming, don't go any where."

"Get a move on old Mon! You can go faster than that."

"...There is a difference between can and want." He said with a deadpan tone, his alternative self is really getting on his nerves, the thick vegetation began to thinner as he pushed towards the edge of the woods, brushing away the final layer of branches and leaves, he found himself in a small clearing in a forest, his namesake is having fun toying around with the the handle of an old, most likely dry well, almost breaking off the frail handle in the process, behind the well, lies the ruins of a very small village, consisting of only a couple of houses.

His look-alike noticed that he came out of the woods, "Finally! You are here! Took you long enough old Mon. But now you are here, there is nothing stopping me from exploring, good luck find me!" His form then vanished from the well, the next thing he knew is that he is now on top of the ruined roof of a house, looking towards a certain direction, "Wow, I can see Mount Cabe from here! I need to ask my mom to built an tower or something near our house, imagine the view." Then his form disappeared from view again, god knows where he went this time.

"...Kids never change." He muttered to himself in mild amusement while moving towards the ruins, according to him, he is still a kit in this world, but he could never understand how they are always so energetic and naive all the time, but… innocence and naivety is rare in almost every universe, people had it at first, before growing out of it or losing it, it is actually tragic if you think of it, but also an inevitable part of life.

The warm afternoon sunlight shone through the bare branches of tall Maple and Birch trees that surrounded the clearing, the overly stretched out shadowy arms hung over the ancient ruins, as if Death himself is creeping over this ruined village, trying to claim it as his own. What was left of the former village stood in spite of itself, defying the process of decomposition and the passage of time, for now at least. This place was kept secret and cut off from the rest of the world by the trees, surprisingly avoiding the destructive touch of modernized humans, though it looked like something built the middle ages rather than something from the hands of modernized humans, perhaps that is why they are disappearing in the first place, they are slowly… devolving? From what he had seen, it certainly looks like the case. He would expect to find some other Pokemon within the ruins, but from where he is standing, he couldn't see anyone else, normally a ruin like this should be literally infested with Pokemon, he is guessing this has something to do with Vitae District's views on human life styles, which should explain why no one wants to go near these buildings.

It appears to him there had been a fire in this village, possibly leading it to be abandoned. The charred remains of stone and wooden houses stood in the neat roles along the a path resembling a street, a skeleton of what they are suppose to be. Even from only the ruins, Alger could sense this town used to be so alive, so prosperous, people going about with their own business, carts filled to the brim with goods, traveling down the street, from one town to another. These house must have been a place where people felt secure and content when they are inside, a place where they can relax, sit around and chat with their friends. Now only the stone columns are the only complete thing left behind after the fire as nearly everything else withered away in that fire, the gradually decaying town is almost like a marker, counting down the days that passed since the fire in a timeless place like this forest, the sun is shining through the cracks on the roof, wind whistled in without concern and the rain pounded it, falling right into the interior that lost the protect of the roof. Looking around at the rest of the buildings, this area of the town must have been the place where the fire started and claimed it first victims. The walls had long since crumbled inwards, replaced by the fallen beams of wood from the roof, blackened and charred from where the flames had licked and scorched them, nothing was able to escape the grasp of the flames.

Who knows what might lie in these ruins, perhaps a photograph of a family? Lost riches that couldn't be carried out in time? Or maybe just nothing at all. Moving closer to one of the houses, he touched the charred beams of what had been someone's home, the wood felt wet and fragile, a piece even broke off under his paw, he closed his eyes, imagining what might have happened to this village on that unfortunate day, he saw the town in an inferno, thick black smoke rose from the blazing buildings, ascending higher and higher into the air, the smell of burning wood clouded over the entire forest. Orange flames reaching out the windows and roofs, spurting out horizontal jets of flame in every creak, He could almost feel the heat of the flames on his face, radiating off the building in front of him, he could almost hear people screeching away from the burning wrecks, begging for mercy, he cou-

"Whatcha doing?"

"Gah!" The sudden intruding voice of his look-alike actually spooked him, he was certainly not expecting him to creep up on him… or teleported next to him, combined with his voice sounding exactly like his, then you got yourself a recipe that scared the poor Umbreon pretty bad. Alger had almost blasted a Shadow Ball right in his face if he haven't realized who it was, "Arceus… Could you not do that? Couldn't you see I was deep in thought?"

The Umbreon who crept up on him didn't seem to realize how big of a scare he just gave Alger, "Ha… Do what? I saw you from the top of that building, standing there motionless, facing a burnt wall, I thought you were in a trance or something, so I did what any good friend would do, I came over and checked on you! Don't you appreciate how much I care for a friend?"

Alger can't tell if he is using a joking tone, a sarcastic one or really being serious, but he can't make a good argument against his point nevertheless, he is partially right, he is only caring for a friend, "...Right," though he is still a bit doubtful that he did it with good intentions, for all he knew, he might just want to scare him and see his reaction, "But please, don't do that to me nex- In fact, don't do that to me ever again, you are only putting me and yourself in danger."

He pouted, "Poof, you are just boring, just like my brother, you and him will get along soooo well, anyways, I have done my exploration, there is really nothing interesting in this pile of rubbles, I want to get a move on!"

"...Just be patience, I just want to see some more of this ruined place, that is all, after that, I promise you that we will be one our way to home."

"What do you mean? There is nothing left to see! It is just a sea of rubble, well, perhaps excluding that one building in the center of the village." He was never one for staying in one place for an extended periods of time, especially when there is nothing interesting around for him to mess with, he could understand how this might be of interest to his weird, boring alternative self, but certainly not to him, he was raised right alongside ruins of various types and conditions and they are practically everywhere, but his look-alike certainly doesn't know that as his ears perked up at his words.

"Really? An intact building in the middle of an post-apocalyptic wreck? A likely story." Alger doesn't seem to be convinced by his words, but who can possibly believe that a single building managed to survive while the rest didn't? Combined with the fact that his namesake claims it is in the middle of the town and he perceived him as very unreliable, he simply couldn't bring himself to believe him.

Alger noticed the tone in his voice, "Hmph, don't believe me now, do you? But I saw it this time with my own eyes while standing on the rooftops! It was a really big building with high raising rooftops and spires with colorful glass windows! I will show you, follow me please!" With that , he turned and hopped down the grassy streets, signally Alger to follow him without even asking if he want to follow him.

This is really getting more and more like looking after a kit than an exploration, he wouldn't have minded if he actually knows how to handle kits, but the reality is, he is kind of obvious as to how to handle and take carry of them correctly, so the only thing he can do is just follow them around and keep them safe from danger, which he suppose he better do now. Alger stretched out his body, then begin to chase after the fading figure down the street.

By the time he finally caught up with his namesake, he has already arrived at their destination and was waiting for him, for a kit, he sure knows how to run, but Alger is sure that he had an advantage with his short distance teleportation abilities. Though it certain didn't stop him from teasing him as he approached him, closing in on the final meters. "Aww… What is the matter old Mon, can't keep up with me? You could have just asked me to slow down a little bit."

"...Why don't you be quiet and show me where the building is?"

"Jeez, can't take a joke, can you? Well the building is right in front of you, look up!" He moved out of his way, enabling him to get a first clear view of the intact building in this entire village.

The building in front of him is a church, he was sure of it, the beautiful, old stone carvings on its walls are still somewhat tangible, he could make out the outlines of a sculpture that resembles Arceus on the top part of the arch, with other legendaries surrounding him, though he can identify what most of them are suppose to be, the stained glass on the sides are still in pristine condition aside from a few that had shattered over the years, almost like someone was looking after it since the humans fled, these colorful crystal panels each hold a forgotten story, never to be told again. The high spire at the back, presumable acting as the bell tower at the same time, stood its ground against the test of time, thick vines are beginning to creep up the tower from the base, but the structure held, like a lone soldier standing amongst all of his fallen comrades, preparing his final stand against the inevitable.

The church is surrounded by a ring of jumbled up stones, a cemetery, presumably. He had seen mass graves like these before, but the graves stones back he saw back then are lined up in a single file, nice and neat, the grave stones themselves are carved out of white marble and the lawn is healthy and well trimmed, but here it looks like people are buried at random, as if they deiced the burial place by tossing a coin into the air and starting digging at the place where it landed, they are tilted to one way or another, no two are in a straight line, nor is any of them in the same shape, size or colour. It is actually kind of saddening, to think that all that's left of these people are the twisted gravestones, they might have been great merchants, warriors, people who stood up for what is right, but they all withered away, with only a piece of stone to mark their existence on this planet, their body are long gone, not even bones can long periods of time in the damp ground. Soon enough, even these tombstone will crack and break, and there will be nothing left to say that they even existed.

"See? I told you that I was not lying!" He suddenly jumped in front of Alger's face, giving a playful smile, "I am waiting for that word~ That magic word that starts with a S~"

"...Very well then, I am sorry that I didn't trust you, but under the circumstances back then, it was hard for me to trust you." Alger does feel slightly bad for just brushing away his statement about this church like nothing, but who can blame him for doing so?

"There you go! Now, was it so hard to just trust me? Not only you are boring, but also distrustful, oh well, different strokes for different folks, now what do we do? Can we leave now?"

Alger didn't answer his question at first, instead he started moving towards the lone church, "I am thinking that we should at least explore the church, to see if there is anything worth investigating inside, you told me to try and trust you, don't you think you should try and trust my decisions?" His face showed a small smirk, though his look-alike didn't see it.

Seeing no way out of this, Alger sighed and walked slowly behind him.

Getting past the gravestones, they arrived at the large, wooden front door of the church, reinforced with cast iron gratings, it is made out of large, plain, unadorned wooden planks, its surface became dull and spotted with mold with years of exposure to the elements and lack of maintenance, the brown varnish that is suppose to protect the planks can no longer even protect itself as it is scratched and dented in places, and completing missing in other places, only one brass door knob hang on the door, dulled with rain and a layer of green tarnish, on the other side of the door where the matching door knob should be was replaced by a square piece of dark metal. Alger pushed his body against the door to see if it would budge, the heavy doors creaked in its hinges and bented backwards, but did not break. He will need to get around this door if he wish to enter the church. He pulled back from the side, the side of his body that was touching the door came away blacken with mould, though it is barely noticeable through his black fur.

His look-alike watched his initial attempts in mild amusement, "What is the matter? Are you having trouble getting past that door, if whatever is inside interest you so much, if you could just blast it out of the way, or you can but you don't want to, then I will do it for you."

"...Yes, I would like to enter the church, but I would rather-"

"You could have just asked me in the first place, move out of the way please!" His look-alike cut him off again, stepping in front of him, facing the door, he couldn't see what exactly he is doing, but he knows that he is charging up an attack. This soon became evident as a ball of white energy became visible in front of his snout, seconds before it erupted into an violet beam of energy, tearing right through the door, disintegrating it in the process, Alger's jaw almost dropped, this kit just used an Hyper Beam! Though much weaker than the one the Snorlax who he was up against used, but it is still powerful.

Alger seems to be happy that his Hyper Beam did the job as he bounced around to face the shocked and slightly horrified look-alike, "What? You seem like you just seen a ghost or something, also, no need to thank me! I was looking for something to practise my Distortion Beam on."

"...Two things, I never asked you to destroy the door, I was planning on looking an alternative way of entering this building without causing any unneeded destruction. Second, what in the world is a Distortion Beam? That looks like a Hyper Beam than anything else to me."

"Isn't just blasting the door open just way more easier? The humans are gone, there are absolutely no penalty for doing so, and it makes things easier for both of us, in other words, I don't see why I shouldn't. And as for the Distortion Beam," He gave himself a light chuckle, seemingly pretty proud, "it is my version of Hyper Beam, given my small size and the limited physical capabilities that came with it, I obviously can't use Hyper Beams multiple times before i tire myself out, so I made some modifications to our lovely beam of destruction! Its range is vastly limited, but each use doesn't require that much energy and it covers a wider areas in front of me, after some trials and errors usually involving the beam blowing up in my face, I got the hang of it… most of the time."

"...That still doesn't explain why you chose Distortion Beam over other attacks, the door is not a durable object, a simple Shadow Claw or Shadow Ball could have broken through it."

He gave Alger a sheepish smile, "That is because… I… Don't really know any non-physical attacks that deliver enough force except for the Beam, so… I admit I might have gone a little bit overboard with this one."

Alger rolled his eyes, "...The point is, the door is now gone, we should get a move on, and do not, I repeat, do not blow anything else up unless I asked you to, which I highly doubt I ever will." He then entered the church, walking past the former doorway of the church, parts of the door still hang loosely on its hinges.

"Killjoy..." He muttered.

But he muttered them a bit too loud and Alger caught them, "...No, I believe the correct pronunciation is, Preservation."

"I never said I was going to blow anything else up..." he huffed, following Alger into the depths of the lost sacred ground.

The disturbance in airflow caused by his look-alike Distortion Beam, made the thick layer of dust that settled every surface in sight like a layer of gray snow, which gave the church a gloomy atmosphere, flew up and hung in the air like a curtain of veil, abstracting his vision. Rays of light shone through the cracks and colored glass windows, not only catching the dust particles suspended in air, but also casting a beautiful display of colours upon the floor and rolls of frayed wooden chairs, and shattered marble altar stood alone near the end of the church, remains of tapestry still hung high up on the moved cautiously to avoid the several dark holes that formed on the floorboards where it has snapped due to the lack of maintenance and mold, billowing more dust into air as he passed.

The church was surely deserted. The coloured light beaming through the coloured glass panels on the walls made an eerie contrast dead and silent atmosphere of its interiors, it almost feel like to different worlds, colliding together at such a place. The fragrance of mold was heavy and the occasional sounds of wind buzzing by the windows and cracks could be heard, it is hard for him to believe that this place used to be somewhere people came to look for shelter and forgiveness from their god. He never believed in any Religion, but he can understand and respect the ones who do, they want something to turn to, something to believe in, someone to rely on, to confess their sins and misdoings, but Alger is certainly not one of those beings.

"This is… certainly an interesting place, what's with all the weirdly colored windows, rolls of chairs and that alter? It is a fancy theater or something?" He commented on his surrounds with following Alger, clearing not knowing what a church is supposed to be.

"...You have no idea what a church is? I thought your District is associated with Human culture, you ought to know what a Religion is." Alger asked while being careful to not to trip over the gaps between the floorboards.

Thankfully, it seems that he does know what a Religion is, "Religion? You mean the thing that was written in some weird books in the city we found? Meh, it was of no use to us, so we just left it there and forgot about it. What is the whole thing about anyways? Something about you are a someone created by Arceus himself, and you live under his rule or something?"

"...Basically."

"Well, to me, that whole thing is just dumb, I mean, really? Arceus creating all of us? That is just… wholly unscientific, I remembered the book also mentioned something about destiny and fate, but these two things are also just stupid, you honestly expect people to believe that their life is already mapped out for them and everything they do is won't matter because the plan will go its course? I personally don't believe in things like "Destiny", your life is something you forged for yourself as you live on, not something set by an unseen god at the moment you are born, I worked hard, I tried my best, I made attempts to surpass my limits, and none of these efforts went to waste. I can say that I am content with where I am now. My point is, if you believe in destiny, you are most likely not going to try to change anything about your life, since you think there is no point in trying." He stopped as he began to gave his speech, getting more and more serious as further he went, something that Alger really did not expect to see on such a character, he used to see him as an overly energetic and possibly sassy version of himself and he knows that he shouldn't judge someone he met just today, but given the properties he presented, it is really hard not to.

"... I appreciate that you trust me enough to share your opinion on such a touchy subject openly, but I don't think Religions can be called stupid, I respect your opinions, however." Secretly, he does agrees with most of what he just said, that Destiny is something that doesn't exist, but he shouldn't just pan Religion entirely just based on one side of it. "And I would like to continue our exploration if you don't mind."

However, his look-alike doesn't seem to be too keen on continuing venture any further into the church, "You said you respect my opinion, and that is my opinion, which is Religion are stupid and unneeded, end of conversation! Now, can we please go now? There is clearly nothing in there besides more dust bunnies and chairs, unless you are interested in things like these, which would be...pretty weird."

"...I would rather see what I could find."

He cocked his head ot the side and gave Alger an innocent smile, "Nope, you are coming with me, we are out of here, and besides, who is the one that suggested we need to get a move on before it turns to night time? Need I to remind you that the nights here are as freezingly cold after the cities went dark? I think I can feel the temperature drooping right now! And if you refuse… I will have to drag you outside, well, not really drag, but more like forced teleportation, did that to my brother once, and he got sick for a few hours, I am sure you don't want to taste that now, do you?"

...So, basically now he is being threatened by himself, another scenario he never thought would happen, he really doesn't want to comply with his terms as he want to see if he could find anything else worth his time, but he want to reduce conflicts in a minimum, and judging by his look-alike's tone of voice, he is not joking in the slightest bit. "...Very well then, we will resume on our path back home, however I would rather you to not threaten me in order to get something done."

His namesake's face instantly grew bright at those words, "Wonderful! Let's head back now!" He turned, ready to run off towards the doorway, he muttered to Alger, "I don't know, I find passive aggressive threats fun, don't you think?" before running towards the doorway, leaving Alger behind.

Alger didn't immediately follow his look-alike, instead he was distracted by a circular object resting by one of the chairs, almost covered by the dust, resembling a coin through the dust, he walked up to it and gently blow the dust off from its surface, revealing the object. It is indeed a coin, a quite old one, it must be, its rough metallic surface giving off a shine ony gold may possess, he can make out the words "Arceus, the One and Only." and a symbol resembling Arceus' golden cross like wheels in its midsection, two small blue gemstone are embedded on either side of the wheel. He scooped it off the ground with psychic to get a better look at it, on the backside it has the shape of a crescent moon stamped onto it with a green gemstone right above it, reflecting off some light his rings are giving off, besides that, there is really nothing much to the coin, but he tossed it into his leather pouches anyways, like always, a little souvenir for every occasion. With that sorted, he turned and finally started chasing down his look-alike, hoping that he still could catch up with him.

* * *

"...How much further?"

"It is close, I swear this time around, we are getting close!"

"...That is what you said five minutes ago."

"No I didn't, you have no proof!"

They have spent almost all eternity traversing through the woods, he didn't pay much attention to the time, but he is certain that night has fallen, made evident by the sharp drop in temperature, the kit was not joking when he said the nights are cold, his fur are not quite enough to stop the bitter coldness Cold from seeping into his flesh, stealing the heat from his body. The environment is certainly not helping with lighting up the mood, the forest they are in now gives him an ominous feeling, he won't be able to see anything if it weren't for his night vision ability, it is quiet, the sullen silence in the woods is creeping him out, the rattling of leaves under their footsteps is the only thing he could hear. He does wonder how in the world can he navigate through these woods without ever getting lose since everything looks the same, his eyes flickered from tree to tree, be sure to not run into any of them, they rose steadily into the sky, their branches interlocking with each other like a net of chains, preventing anyone from getting in or out, they were also quite densely packed together, leaving just enough space for him and his look-alike and maneuver around them with ease.

"...I don't want to be rude, but are we sure that we are not lost?" Alger is getting dubious about whether his look-alike in front of him actually knows where to go.

He answered him without stopping, "Oh please, have some faith in me, I know my territory, I was born here, raised here, injured here and learned here, it would be tragic to not know a place where you spent 19 years of your life."

"...I have seen someone who lived in a house for 10 years and still managed to get himself lost in the forest surrounding the house, so I would consider my doubts justified."

"Really? Whoever that guy is, he clearly doesn't come out and exercise, like, at all. But I do! I venture out and play around this area quite so often, annnnddddd..."

Alger is getting an ominous feeling from his purposefully prolonged voice, "...And what? Somehow I got a feeling that whatever you are going to say next is not going to be good news for any of us."

He gave Alger a sheepish smile, "Well, it is not really a bad news… Alright, it is not good either, so basically, a few days back, I may or may not have accidentally angered the entire population of a small village..."

Alger would have face-palmed if he could, but his body form doesn't allow him to accomplish such a task without straining his body, why wouldn't he just stay out of trouble?! Alger himself knows the importance of being neutral and how to clearly chose his words and actions to prevent unneeded trouble, but it appears to him that his look-alike doesn't know any of that, at all. "...Why am I not even surprised anymore… Can't you just stay out of trouble? For once? I have been with you for about only half of a day, and I believe I have seen enough. Where is this village, how big it is and what did you do?"

"It is nothing big, I swear!" He stopped running completely at this point, forcing Alger to stop as well, "It happened around… 2 to 3 days ago, I was walking around this forest as usually, and I might have wandered slightly off course, a bit more to the North than what I intended to go, into unfamiliar territory. So, as I was walking alongside a river, I noticed a structure in the distances right alongside the river, it is definitely built by Pokemon, seeing how it was in grand condition. And being the bright fella I am, I approached it, it turns out the building is… or rather, was a watermill."

"...Was? What did you do?"

"Uh… I will get to the part. So! The watermill was built out of stones and wooden beams, with a hay stacked roof, nothing special about that. I walked up to it, knocked on the door a couple of times- Actually, now I think of it, I remember seeing a sign up on the door that says along the lines of "Returning in 10 minutes", but… I kinda ignored it. After receiving no response, I nudged the door to see if it would open, much to my dismay, it didn't, I really wanted to see the interior of a mill, I never saw one before! Only in those stupid human books left behind." He paused, taking in a breath of air.

"...Has it ever came to your mind that doors are locked for a good reason?"

"Hmm… None of my concern!" He continued on with his tale, "Anyways, so after the failure attempts to open the door- obviously I can't just blast it open like the church door because it is private property, I looked for another way to entertain myself while I am still here, that is when I set my eyes on the vertical waterwheel spinning in the river."

"...I really don't like where this is going."

"Shush you, let me finish first! Where was I? Ah, yes. The waterwheel, being the sensible Umbreon I am, I decided to climb up the wheel while it is still turning, and t was not easy for me to get on that wheel without falling into the river and get myself soaking wet, drying up all this fur is not easy, and I think you are aware of that. I had a few minutes of fun racing up and down the steps of the wheel as the water propelled it to move, until… I heard a cracking noise at the part where the wheel is connected to the mill."

"...This is going exactly where I think it is going."

"Aww come on! You can't expect me to know that thing will be this easy to break! And before you even mention common sense, forget about it, my mom said I have none, whatever that means. Thankfully, I hopped off it before it broke off with the rest of the building and rolled down the stream, normally, I would just get out of there as quickly as possible, but this time around I made the mistake of hanging around a bit too long, and before I know, I was surrounded by half of the village, wanting to put my head on a spike."

At this point, Alger could only stare at his counterpart in a mixture of amusement, disappointment and shock, he will need more than just luck to survive if he constantly goes around and making trouble like this, "And how did you escape, judging from what you told me, you sound like you have no way out."

He rolled his eyes at Alger, "Duh. Forgetting something here? Teleportation! I would most likely dead if it weren't for that."

"...Please tell me that you at least apologized to them."

"Oh boy, now you are starting to sound like my mom, actions can only be forgiven, not forgotten, what is done cannot be undone. I mean, if you took a plate and toss it onto the ground, and say sorry to it after it broke, the pieces won't come back together, I would apologize to them, if they are not too busy trying to tear my head off, after one failed attempt, I figured it is not worth to risk my life over a watermill."

Alger sighed in utter defeat, "... Did your parents at least try to make things up with them? A little bit? Anything! Or can you just sit down and talk it out? Like actual civilized creatures?"

"Uh.. Nope! My dad told me to clean after my own mess after they are tired of cleaning up after me, so… My definition of clean up is very different. And who said civil creatures must sit down and talk like gentleman? Humans are civilized, that didn't stop them from going at each other's throats and destroying themselves."

"...Point, but still, you should really try to-" Alger suddenly teleported right in front of him and tackled him to the ground, catching him completely by surprise, moments before an electric energy sphere whizzed past above them, narrowly missing them as it struck the tree trunk behind them, he was about to yell at him as too what the hell he thinks he is doing, but the energy sphere said it all, they are under attack, and he just saved him from a nasty hit.

His look-alike immediately rolled off from him after the effects of the attack went away and got back onto his paws, staring at the direction where the attack came from, "It is really not much fun to ambush your opponents like that, you know?"

The elements of surprise quickly wore off on Alger as he got back onto his paws as well, standing side by side with his look-alike. At first he couldn't locate their attacker among the thick tree trunks, but eventually he noticed something out the ordinary, the outline of an ear could be seen poking out from behind a tall root, "...Come on out, we can see you, you are behind the Dark Oak's roots, your ears is showing."

The figure cursed something under its breath, too quiet for the Umbreon to pick up exactly what he is saying, the figure then rose and removed himself from his cover, showing himself to the duo, it is a quadrupedal Pokemon, most of its body is covered with ragged, black fur, with the exceptions of his face, hind legs and torso, which are covered in a light blue fur, a long, thin tail tipped with a yellow four-pointed star could be seen swaying back and forth behind him. He growled at them, "My plan was perfect, perfect! There was no way that you could have seen me in that darkness, what trick did you use on me, you little scum bag? And- Why… is there two of you?" He shook his head, trying to make sure that he is not seeing things, yet there it is, two of the same Umbreon who destroyed the watermill in his village.

The alternative Alger first tried to hold back his laughter, before a wave of laughter burst out, he was laughing so hard, he couldn't stop, trying to catch his breath and snort. He stared at the Luxray with a vastly amused expression, as if he just told a wonderful joke. The Luxray, on the other hand, was both confused and angry at this sudden outburst of laughter.

"Wha- Stop laughing! Do I look funny to you? Treat your opponent with respect!" In his displeasure, he let out a tremendous roar, the trees around them begin to tumble as the leaves that still hang on to the branches begin to fall. A field of azure glow surrounding the duo protected them from the mighty roar, Protect. Alger smirked, Protect is surely a neat little trick to have around, especially when your opponent is not expecting it.

His counterpart's laughter eventually died off, reduced to the occasional giggle, "You asked me why I was laughing? It is because what you just said, is the best joke I have heard in years! You are like a kitten, with a look of one and the intelligence of one, really now? There was no way that we can see you in that darkness? I think you are forgotten here, something really important, something fundamental about being an Umbreon, we get night vision, you dumbass! I saw you coming a mile way, I just didn't say anything as I was unsure of what you were trying to accomplish by trailing us, but now I know! Don't mind this fella over here that looks exactly like me, he is not me or associated with me in any way, I just found him wandering around in the Vitae District, then he deiced he would escort me home! Because apparently, I am someone that needs protection."

"...You could have just told me not to."

"Nah, that would be just boring, besides, I like having someone around, like you!"

"ENOUGH!" The Luxray shouted at them, grabbing both of their attention for the first time. "I don't care who you are, where you are from, or what you did, just stay out of my way! This is between me and this Umbreon, he has brought disgrace upon my family, I was the town guard, and he somehow slipped past me and caused the destruction of the watermill, I will end you here!"

"Well, if you are the town guard, you obviously weren't doing a very good job either way, so… Oh yea, Alger, why don't you handle this one, I think I have already handled someone for you, now it is your turn! Every man for himself!" He blinked out of existence again, "Up here!" Alger looked up, and found his look-alike laying comfortably on one of the thicker branches, "I will just stay here in case anything goes wrong, don't worry! If you want my help, just ask me, and I will help! Unless you let your ego get the better of you."

Alger blinked at his words, "... Do I seem like someone who has an ego?"

"You never know, I only knew you for 6 hours, who knows what exactly is hiding under your skin? Anyways, enough chit chat, he is coming right at you! Battle Formations! Now!" He shouted orders at him, pretending to be a General overseeing a battlefield, but his warnings were ultimately valid, the sound of rapid paw steps and the crackling noise of electricity was upon him in mere seconds, he buckled and dashed out of the way, using Feint Attack to gain some additional movement speed, narrowly avoiding the sharp fangs and clutching jaws of the Luxray as he missed Alger and bit into an overly exposed tree root, crushing it into pieces in one swift bite. This guy is no pushover, he will have to fight hard to bring him down, looking back at the Luxray, he is still trying to get all that wooden splinters out of his mouth, buying Alger some precious time to form a plan.

"And Alger escaped the Luxray's first attack! But will he get so lucky next time? He needs to get on the offensive if he wants to win to save himself and me!" He shouted out from his branch, acting like sports commentators, earning a glare from Alger and a low growl from the Luxray, he gazed downwards at the Luxray from his branch, "Hey kitty! How does the wood taste? I bet it tastes great! Perhaps even better than your mom's cooking, isn't that right?"

The Luxray looks like he is about to murder the Umbreon on the tree, he gritted his teeth, "Let's see how smug you are when I am done with you. I will finish off your little bodyguard over here, then I will drag your body into the village and redeemed myself as the Royal Town Guard!"

"Geez… So barbaric, so much for a civilized for a civilized conversation like you proposed, isn't that right Alger? No wonder the humans kept us under their supervision at first. But! I don't think anyone is getting dragged back into any village today, because sir, you just made three mistakes, first one being overly underestimating your opponent, what makes you think that we can be so easily defeated? I thought being a town guard, you would have learned that through experience, which leads to my second point, never give your back to an enemy! Which is what you are doing right now, honestly, who said that I am going to fight you?" He lie flat on the tree branch, looking rather relaxed as a looking of realization and horror crept up the Luxray's face, he instinctively attempted to leap out of his current position, but his realization came a tab bit too late, a Shadow Ball struck and exploded on the back of his head, knocking him to the ground, but far from being able to take him out, the Luxray scrambled to get back up, afraid to take another hit, but Alger had different ideas in mind, the ground beneath his paws suddenly begin to glow with a sickly purple light, which soon turned into a field of purple, gritty muck.

"Excellent! Alger used a combination of Shadow Ball and Toxic to catch his opponent off guard! Now the kitty is hurt, poisoned and embarrassed, what will he do now?" Alternative Alger is still commentating on this battle, despite the general consensus from both sides that no one wants him to, though the good thing is the Luxray is reacting towards his taunts, giving Alger more time to prepare his next move.

"Shut up! You get down here at this moment and fight me fair and just! Stop letting your minions do your dirty work!" The Luxray yelled at him in rage and frustration, he would have dragged him down the tree… if he knew how to climb one, in his rage, he charged up another Electro Ball and launched it towards the branch the Umbreon was resting on, hoping to knock him off the tree.

The Umbreon simple yawned at his puny attempts to bring him to the ground, the Electro Ball did fly true as it snapped the branch right in half, but he simply disappeared from that branch and reappeared on another one before the energy sphere even reach him. "You know, we could do this all night long, I have got the time, the patience, space and energy to do so, but I don't think you do! And besides, I am not the one who still has the battle to fight! You made the second mistake twice in a role! And made a new one in the process, you are poisoned, Idiot! Time is of the essence! Seriously, who taught you? My God, why is everyone I face so incompetent at fighting?!"

As much as the Luxray is reluctant to admit, this little brat is correct, he is no threat to him for the moment, the real threat is the other Umbreon in the distance, keeping a close eye on him, but he didn't take the chance to attack him when he was distracted by the little prick upon the trees, maybe he is planning something out? Or- No, he is waiting, he knows that he is poisoned, it is only a matter of time before he falls, so why even bother to fight him now? He can already feel the Toxic slowly taking its effect on his body, his vision begin to blur and a mild headache begins to develop, soon, he will be a heap upon the ground, unconscious, ripe for the taking.

He fell into in a mindless rage, yelling, spitting out some saliva with each jagged word he through at Alger, "No… I refuse… I can't be defeated by you two, I can't. I will not be defeated! NOT BY THE LIKES OF YOU!"

"Sheesh. Someone has lost it. I think you need more anger control classes than battle training classes,"

The Luxray is breathing hard, from both the effects of the Toxic muck and his anger, he let out one earth-shattering roar, his howling reverberated in Alger's ears like a flash of thunder, a roar of pure rage and frustration.

Then he charged.

He is running as fast as his legs would carry him, quickening his pace to an all out sprint, bolting right towards Alger, like a Predator chasing after its prey, his head throbbed with pain, his heart pounded inside his chest, but he didn't stop, he is going down, and he is going to take someone down with him.

Alger watched the Luxray as he began his final desperate offensive, his last chance to turn the tide of a losing battle, he didn't move or made his attempt to move out of his way, he just stood there and watched the Luxray as he got closer and closer to him.

15 meters, he could hear the crackling electricity that surrounded his form.

10 meters, he could smell the scent of earth coming off from his body.

5 meters, he could see the whites of his eyes.

1 meter, he could almost feel his hot breath on his face.

And then-

He smashed face first into a green barrier.

Alternative Alger, who witness the whole incident from his vantage point, burst out laughing at the sight of a full grown lion slamming his face straight into the Barrier Walls of a Protect, "Oh my! I thought this can't get any better! What were you trying to accomplish? By rushing in like that? Didn't you honestly forget that Alger has Protect? For Arceus' sake, he even used it in front of your cat eyes!"

The Luxray only grunted, slowly sliding off the Green Barriers and onto the ground, falling unconscious, he had knocked himself out with the impact. Alger retracted Protect as the Green Barriers begin to fade out of view, stepping in front of the Luxray, Alger nudged him to see if he is truly unconscious or just pretending, the Luxray didn't respond to this motion, it seems that he is truly knocked out, "...Honestly, I have no idea what he was doing either, my best guess is that he has gotten overly angry and upset at your comments to the point where you literally broke him...I would consider that an accomplishment more than anything else, breaking someone using just words."

"Thank you! I try my best!" Alternative Alger replied before reappearing beside him, he has gotten used to him appearing out of thin air at this point, he poked at the Luxray with his front paw, "Are you sure he is alright? That you didn't accidently kill him?"

"...I used that tactic on multiple different opponents, none of them have died, he is just unconscious, he should be awake by tomorrow morning, though most likely with a pounding headache, but… I think I have something that might help him." The older Umbreon's eyes lit up brightly, and a handle of berries was removed from his leather pouches, placed just in front of the unconscious Electric Type, "...Pecha berries, it should help with the poison."

"Probably…" Alternative Alger gave him an amazed look," You are too nice of a person, even giving your enemies a cure after the battle. Which reminds me, why do you never go on the offensive? I mean, you threw one Shadow Ball at him and one Toxic, that is it, it worked, not complaining, mainly due to me keeping him occupied, but still, why?"

"...Because I simply do not like to go the offensive, I am never a big one with fights in the first place, I would partake in them if they were for fun or to protect someone I care, but most of the time I just avoid them. A lot of things that can be solved by fighting can also be solved by talking, so why fight? Going on the offensive feels, weird, unnatural, contradictory to my moral codes, and besides, aren't we built to be defensive? My offensive abilities are even more limited than other Umbreon, seeing how I sacrificed that for more Defensive Based abilities like Protect, Light Screen and Reflect, my attacks don't do much damage anyways… But I did found something a while back, a scythe to be exact. It can significantly boost my offensives abilities for a limited amount of time."

"A scythe?" The alternative Alger eyed the pouches on Alger's sides, "How big of a scythe are we talking about? I don't see you carrying anything with you besides those leather pouches, and I am pretty sure if it can somehow fit in there, it won't be very useful in any form of combat situations, unless you are fighting a Rattata or something, even so it would be wholly inadequate, are you sure you are not mixing something up here? Because I felt like you are."

Alger shook his head, "...No, it won't fit in there since it is never in there in the first place, that scythe… doesn't actually take a physical form when I am not using it."

"Huh, it doesn't? That is… interesting, also not making any sense at all. Well, presume what you are telling me is true, where is it then? You just call it out of the air or something? Or do you pull it out of your ears?" He joked, hoping to earn a laugh or a few from his counterpart, but Alger just stood there with the same, unchanging expression on his face, "Really? No reaction? Is your nervous system damaged or something? To a point where you literally can't laugh at all? Because I think I have not heard you laugh a single time since I met you, you smirked, and that is about it."

"...I am… not sure what you are talking about." Alger is honestly confused by his look-alike, first he asked why won't he laugh at his supposedly jokes, then he claimed that his Nervous system is damaged, "You are making no sense at all, I was supposed to laugh at that? I don't see the humor in your speech."

"See? You are doing it again!" He exclaimed, suddenly warping right in front of him, unable to believe what he was hearing, "That monotone voice! At first, I thought you just like being serious, but I think you are incapable of anything else but being serious! Come on, just laugh a little bit! Relax! You are not at war or a job interview, is it just so hard for you to lessen up a little bit?"

Alger just stared back at him with a deadpan expression, "...Two answers to your questions. First, I didn't laugh at your joke because I didn't consider it as one at first, and it wasn't funny to me. I will laugh, only if it is proper humor that appeals to me, not some witty comments or one-liners. Second, I am serious all the time because I keep to myself, not going around and doing stupid things to embarrass myself; I am serious because it helps me to focus on what I am doing, squeezing my way through hardships; I am serious because… When I tried to act playful, I was punished for doing so, and I changed my ways, when I tried to act carin-" He abruptly ended the sentence, "...I think I have said too much, and please, do not inquire any further, you are wandering into dangerous territories."

Alternative Alger was about to press on, but Alger's gaze silenced him, his stare made him feel uncomfortable, it was by no means a chilling stare, but combined with his motionless face, it made him shudder."Alright… I will not press on… Changing subject! You haven't answered my question from before, where do you keep that scythe if you can pull it out whenever you want?"

"Well..." He does seem to be somewhat relieved by the change of subject, "I think the most accurate way of putting is… it is inside my own body, I know to you, it sounds ridiculous and all, but it is true, the scythe is stored inside my body in a form of energy, when I call it out, it will take the form of a solid. Though it is more of something enforced upon me than a willingly accepted gift. The moment when I touched the scythe, it contorted into an energy sphere and struck me right in the chest, I could feel its aura merging with mine, despite my internal protests. Before I could even recover from the initial shock and dizziness, it is forever one with me. It didn't prove to be useful on several occasions, I use it more as a last stand strategy than anything else, I don't like what it does to my mind, it...changes me, every time that scythe is activated, I felt like a small portion of my mind gets shut down, causing me to be more irrational, easy to anger and erratic, I don't like it, one bit."

"Why not? It sounds awesome to me! And I bet it would be quite the show to watch? Can you please show me it? Pretty please?" He gave him the puppy eyes, hoping it would at least have some effect on this emotionless piece of rock.

Unfortunately, it doesn't effect Alger at all, "...If you are expecting that to work on me, you will be disappointed, according to my friends, what you are doing right now is acting 'cute', which I am still trying to learn how to comprehend it as an emotion. It might be awesome for you to watch, but it is no fun for me, you don't know the feeling. And besides, slicing things up just isn't my style of fighting. Due to previously mentioned reasons, I will have to say no to your request, accidents might happen even if you are being extra careful, I don't want to do anything that would make me regret it."

"Hmpf, Buzzkill times two. Oh well, different Strokes for different folks, moving on! My home is very close to here, in fact, I am surprised that my family didn't hear all this ruckus caused by this kitty over here. We better get a move on, enough loitering around in this place, follow me please!" He took off once again, jumping from root to root, Alger followed him without saying anything else, secretly hoping that nothing else will go wrong.

* * *

And nothing else went wrong.

When Alternative Alger said his home is very close to where they were, Alger thought he was exaggerating again and the trip to reach his home would take an hour or so, but in reality, it only took them about 5 minutes of navigating through the dense forest.

He stopped and pointed towards the base of a giant oak tree with his front paw, "See? There it is!"

Following the direction his paw is point at, Alger eventually spotted his home at the base of the oak tree, It crouched into the roots of the great oak, hunkered down into the tree like a child snuggling against its mother, not wanting to let go, almost becoming one with the tree, as though it were trying to hide from the rest of the world, but the light emitting from this misshapen windows was too bright for it to ever go unnoticed. Through the tangled roots sprawling across the surface of the hut and the roof thatched with beams of wood and straw, he could see the smooth, finely cut, grey stones that made up the walls and the wooden beams that reinforce the stone walls, holding up the cottage, there are occasional flash of bright colours here and there, though they are not stones, but flowers of various colors, spawning here and there against the grey stones, it looked alive and welcoming, a thin smoke trail could be seen coming out of the lone stone chimney on top.

"Pretty, isn't it?" He asked, noticing the stunned expression on Alger's face, ""Though I do wonder who the hell is up and what they are doing this late, probably my parents preparing something, can't be my brother, he is one lazy piece of ass. Anyways, this cottage is actually way older than what you would expect over 150 years old, my grandfather built it, gave it to my dad, and now we live in it...Granted, it is not exactly the one from 150 years ago, since my dad revamped it a couple of times, like reinforcing the walls, adding new furniture stuff like that, I think he wants me to do it next week, don't really want to, it is boring! So! What do you think?"

"...I was… well, expecting something a bit more modern than… this, aren't you guys born from the reminiscence of a doomed civilization? Isn't it common consensus that concrete is much better than wood and stone?" Alger inquired, a bit puzzled as to why his family would make a hut like this for a house.

"Nah, we have those, and other houses from different stages, as I mentioned before and I will say it again, different strokes for different folks, people built all forms of structures these days, using whatever they can find, and my grandfather built this because that is all he had back then, according to my dad, these types of household is a rarity these days, and..." He walked towards the household, signaling Alger to follow, "Don't you think it is refreshing to see something like this among a mountain of stone or concrete structures?"

"...It would be, but I have yet to see any other settlements besides the ruined human town and your house." Alger trailed behind him, getting a closer view of the cottage, it does look pretty the close he gets to it, resembling a scene in a fairytale picture book with a happy ending, the windows are rather dusty rusty, but other than that, everything else about the house is in good condition, they stepped onto a narrow dirt path packed small cobblestones, leading up to the front door of the house, a tiny pond lay to the side, with lily pads floating on top. A small area beside the cottage is surrounded by a roll of fences, protecting the small farm of vegetables inside. "Does your mother keep the house clean, or is that your father's job?"

"Technically, speaking, they both do, mom keeps everything inside and outside the household in check, and my dad is only there to assist her when she needed help." Stopping in front of the plain plank door of the household, he took a deep breath, "Whelp, the moment of truth. The good thing is we made it back in one piece, the bad thing is, my mom is probably going to kill me… Here goes nothing!" He reached out his paw and knocked on the door.

...Alger realized something.

If this Alger is an alternative version of himself in an alternative universe, this could mean that his mother could be-

He shuddered.

Jolecia.

But it is too late for him to back out now, paw steps can already be heard behind the door, rapidly approaching, the door knob turned as the door swung open, revealing the figure behind standing behind it. The creature is quadruped, with slender legs, her entire body is covered in smooth, violet fur. Her ears are large, not quite as bushy as an Umbreon's, but still of considerable size, with tufts of fur beneath them, coupled with her purple colored eyes and the ruby red gem embedded in her forehead, Alger instantly identified her as an Espeon.

"Uh… Hi mom..." Alternative Alger greeted the Espeon nervously.

Alger expected her to get angry at his alternative self before returning home so late, given what he just said about his mother going to kill him over this. But she just sighed and face-pawed. "Oh my god... This has to be a new record or something, how long was it this time around? 6 hours? I know that your father told you to venture out into the world, but certainly not to that extent! You are only a kit! My little kit… Where did you go to this time? Tell me the truth Alger."

He is squirming uncomfortably under her gaze, "Um… Nowhere…? Just wandered into the Vitae District for a bit."

And they are both afraid of their own mothers, something else in common between the two of them.

"YOU WHAT?!" The Espeon's eyes widen as she heard the words "Vitae District", literally screaming at him, "Have you lost your mind or something?! Going over there like that? Do you know that you could have died? I am I said you were devoid of common sense, but I never thought it was to this extent! You, Alger, are grounded for a week for trying something out like that, next time, think before you act young men."

"No! Please! I promise I won't do it again! I returned alive! And I brought a friend over!" He moved out of the way, revealing the identical Alger to his mother, "Mom? I know this is… impossible, but meet Alger."

"...Greetings." Alger awkwardly waved his paw, not sure what to say.

The expression on Espeon's face was… unreadable, but it was fascinating to see the least. Her eyes widen, starting right at Alger, yet not really at the same time. She moved forward, her forked tails weaving behind her, eyes still focusing on his face.

"Umm… Mom?" Alternative Alger seems to be little be freaked out by his mother's strange behaviors, but she didn't respond as she stopped right in front of Alger.

"...Miss, are you alright? You sure doesn't act like you are alright, I suggest you might need to sit down and spent some time taking this in." Alger suggested to the Espeon, frankly, himself was a bit worried as to what his appearance might have done to this poor Espeon.

The Espeon still didn't respond to either of them, she raised her forepaws and poked Alger in the face, causing the Umbreon to back off in alarm, "You are… real..." She lost the color from her face, though it is hard to tell through the thick fur on her face, she then swayed to the side for just a moment before completely collapsing onto the ground, unconscious.

Nobody said anything for a moment as both Umbreon are still trying to take in and comprehend what the hell just happened. "That was… I was expecting a lot of things, but certainly not… that! What have I done?! Oh my god… now mom is actually going to kill me when she wakes up! What to do what to do what to do?!" Alternative Alger broke the silence first, pacing all over the front porch, panicking over the fact he sort of cause her mother to faint.

"...How about start by picking up your mother and put her on a couch of something inside of running around the porch the middle of the night?" He deadpanned.

His look-alike stopped, "Right… Well, how about you pick her up since you knows how to use psychic? I will prepare something that would wake her up, the living room is just to the right-hand side of the hallway, put her down anywhere, I will be right back." He dashed into the cottage, disappearing around the corner at the end of the hallway.

The Umbreon sighed as his look-alike disappeared from his view, why can't he just be a tab bit more responsible and mature? Nevertheless, he has an unconscious Espeon to carry, his eyes lit up again as the Espeon was lifted off the ground, surrounded by a blue energy field, he carefully floated the unconscious Pokemon into the cottage, being mindful so she doesn't hit the wall or a corner while inching towards the Living Room of the cottage.

The Living Room is about average for a cottage of this size, not uncomfortably large nor small. It reminded him of his friend's house, not just in the size of the room, but in the settings as well. The floor is constructed out of polished oak planks, he had never seen such a small room with so much furniture fitted inside, the walls are all made out of smoothed wooden logs packed densely together, painted white. A tiny fireplace at the other end of the room, hosting a warm fire inside it, four small rustic wooden chairs, an oak wood circular table, a beautiful, hand-woven carpet lay at the center of the room, and couches with vibrant cushions lined the walls. Strangely enough, there are no personal photographs to be seen anywhere, nor is there any painting.

Alger walked over to one of the couches and carefully set the unconscious Espeon down onto the soft cushions. The room is well kept, he would give it that, unlike the mess of a household he usually went to on a visit, there is time he felt like he is just not cleaning up the for the sake of annoying him and getting his reaction.

"I am here! Where is mom?" Alternative Alger came stumbling into the room, balancing a small bowl filled with water on his head, even so, it is still straining him as the bowl wobbled from side to side.

"...I thought you went to get some medication, not a bowl of water, what are you even on planning to do with that?"

"Ha, meds? For this? Nah, this bowl of water will do just fine… If I don't spill it prematurely, that is, out of the way! Alger coming through!" He shooed Alger away and got a bit closer to the couch his mother was on, and then…

He lowered his head and dumped the bowl of water onto her.

But it worked.

The Espeon jolt awake with a start, scrambling to get back onto her feet, and only almost caused her to fall off the couch. "Hey, hey, Mom. Relax, no one is attacking us, nor are you dead, I am right here. It is just Water!... Please don't make me do the cleaning afterward." He leaned a bit closer, trying to ensure her that everything is alright.

The Espeon's eye finally came into focus as she recognized the figure in front of her, "A...Alger? Thank god… I think I just had the craziest dream, ever, I thought there was two of you, and that is no...t possible..." She trailed off as she noticed the second Umbreon in the room, identical to her son, "...Wake me up when this dream is over." She closed her eyes, trying to wake up from a dream that never existed in the first place.

"No! Mom! Ugh..." He pushed her with his front paw, shaking her awake once more, getting mildly frustrated at his mother's refusal to believe what she is seeing is real. "He looks like me, but he is not me! I met him during my journey! Just randomly appeared out of nowhere!"

Alger himself stepped up, trying to prove his authenticity, "...Miss, I assure you that I am not your son, I would explain myself in more detail, but I must request you to sent your son to bed before I can explain anything."

"Aww… Why? I want to know who you are and where you are from! You never told me! And we have known each other for half of a day, you only met my mother for less than an hour and you decided to tell her? What sort of backward logic is that?" He doesn't seem to be pleased by Alger's request.

"Sometimes it is a matter of should you know it, not could you know it." Alger doesn't wish to reveal information about himself to him just yet, he will eventually, but not now. "We will see what your mother decides to do."

The Espeon listened to Alger's words and didn't say anything, she doesn't know whether this Umbreon in front of him is real, or just a new trick her son somehow learned and decided to test it out on her. Her curiosity eventually won out against her caution, it wouldn't cause any harm to have a casual conversation with this Umbreon even if he is just an apparition, he even offered to tell her who he is. "Very well then, I will listen to what you have to say, but… Alger, if this is some trick you decided to play on me, the consequences will be severe, didn't I make myself clear?"

"Yea yea mom, I heard you, I promise that he is real, alright?"

"Good, now why don't you go up stairs and to your room? Be careful not to wake up your brother and father, bed time for you."

"But Mom!"

"No space for negotiation, better go before I decided to prolong how long you are grounded for!"

The Umbreon pouted, unhappy that he is being excluded from this conversation, but he obeyed his mother nonetheless, he turned and left duo alone in the room.

The Espeon waited until he ascended up the staircase before turning to Alger, "I am terribly sorry about all of that, but Alger is… difficult to say the least, though I am sure you already know that if you spent today with him. I thank you for escorting him back, he really need to learn where is dangerous and where is not. The more urgent question is, who are you? Why do you look just like my son? You are not a Ditto, I know that judging by the smell, nor are you an illusion, since I can physically touch you. Ugh… excuse me for a moment, I need to get all this water out of my fur." Her eyes begin to brighten as an invisible force brushed against her body, getting the excess moisture out of her fur and coagulated them into a small floating sphere of water. When her fur is mostly dry, she floated the sphere over to a pot of plants at a corner and dropped it into the pot. "There we go, nice and dry and not a single drop wasted, begin please, I am all ears. Ah! Where are my manners? My name is Jan."

Alger cleaned his throat and begin telling his tale, "...Pleasure to meet you, Jan, what I am about to say will seem completely fake and unreasonable, but believe me, I am only telling the truth and my experience, only that. My name is Alger, just like your son's, but I am not him. You can say I am not even from this world, I am a world Traveler, I just happened to stumble upon this words, and by that logic, your son. I found him in a Pine Forest, and escorted him back to his home. Does that answer your question?"

Jan nodded, "You are right about your not making any sense at all, and I don't know if I could trust you or not, but you safely returned my son, it is a deed I have to repay, you can stay here for tonight if you wish, I presume as a world traveler, your goal is to see what different worlds are like? If that is the case, I can get Alger's brother, Ronson to show you around the towns, or even the abandoned city if you wish to see it."

"...I appreciate your generosity, that would be nice. I won't be staying for long though, I think I will depart tomorrow evening, I hope my presence won't bother any of you."

"Not at all! I was about to make some tea when you two came barging in, would you like some as well?" Jan asked.

Alger replied with a faint smile on his face, "Some tea would be nice.


	5. The Boss (Part 1)

**This is part 1 out of a two part story, this is also an alternative version of Chapter 4, I have both ideas for a chapter and don't want to give up both. Enjoy!**

The streets are of a gray tarmac, bleached and battered by the years of rainfall and sunshine. The road is cobwebbed with lines of black tar, despite their effort to cover up and fix the cracks; some are still visible, branching out in all directions. The tree stood by the streets like ghosts, a role of silent observer of the empty city streets, branches fanned out wide, sickly and weak, but undefeated, creating a gloomy contrast with the towering concrete buildings behind them, barks mossy and damp from the unending drizzle. The sidewalk looks abandoned, while it is still made out of smooth concrete like the city he had been to before, but it was scattered with litter, gravel and fallen leaves, no pedestrians could be seen on the streets, yet the street lamps continued on with their duty, lighting up the sidewalk, waiting for dawn to come.

Under the fading moonlight, pale in the mist drifting through the streets, lies a police car, his eye were drawn to the holes that riddled the sides of the car, lined up in bent and twisted tracks, they are bullet holes for sure. Bullets have burst the tires of this car, causing the vehicle to list on its side, like a sinking ship desperate to find shelter before the ocean claims it as its own. The flashing lights on top of the car were also smashed into pieces, but it didn't stop them from flashing and blinking, like a stubborn man who refuses to acknowledge that all is lost. Its headlamps shone weakly onto the mist ahead and onto the ground below, flicking from time to time. But there are no dead bodies to be seen or found anywhere, Alger could smell blood and the sharp scent of gunpowder in the air, yet there is nothing around, except for this battered Police Car.

Then a siren came, followed by another, then another as multiple police cars come rushing down the road right towards him, their headlamps and blue lights cast into the mist, creating a chuck of moving light within the mist. Perhaps they have come to investigate the shooting that occurred around here some time ago, meaning that they will most likely take him in for gathering evidence, if they didn't shot him for being a strange creature, that is. But either way, it is best for him to leave.

"Halt!" Someone shouted behind him, "Turn to me, nice and slowly, try anything funny, and I will blow your head open."

He obeyed the human's command as he turned around, confronted by a Police Officer, pointing a handgun right at him, "We got you now! You have been free for way too long, it is time for you to pay for your crimes and deeds, reinforcements will be here soon, put down your weapons and come with us peacefully, you have got nowhere to hide now, Alger."

...Wait, what?!

He has only arrived in this world for less than 3 hours, how does this normal human police officer know his name and accuse him of committing crimes and bad deeds? But the current situation gave him no time to think as additional police cars came to a screeching halt and pulled up around him, forming a circle, more Police Officers hopped off their vehicles, taking cover behind the cars while pointing their firearms at him, Alger noticed a few Arcanine by some of the officer's legs, growling at him.

One of the Police Officers started shouting, earning his attention, "Alger, you are under arrest for Weapon Trafficking, First Degree Assault, Robbery, Assaulting a Police Officer, Hosting Organized Gang Related Actives and Organized Crime Actives. You have been on your tail for the past half of a year, now we finally got you. Let your guard down didn't you? No need to worry, all those charges are enough to make you sit and rot in jail for the rest of your lives. Don't try anything funny, the detective notified us that we are authorized to use deadly force." He looks down and tapped the Arcanine with his foot, "Arcanine, go put that shock cuff on his neck, I will read his rights for him, we got your covered, we cannot lose him again!" The officer produced what seems like a metal collar from his bulletproof vest and handed down to the Arcanine.

Alger is… honestly baffled at the scene unfolding in front of him, apparently he, someone who just arrived in this world today, managed to illegally buy and sell weapons, assault a police officer, rob someone and lead a gang in less than half of a day? Something is very wrong in this world, either all these police officers are crazy, or he is being mistaken for someone else, he prefers to believe the latter. He knows he needs to get to the bottom of this, or even try and taken down this mafia look-alike of his, if said look-alike exists at all, but now, he needs to get out of the current situation scot-free, getting arrested is definitely not a part of his agenda.

But, how? With all these humans are pointing their firearms at him, having the orders to shoot him if tries anything funny, plain teleportation is out of the question. His best chance now is to get a Protect up long enough so he could teleport away safely. Risky, but it is his only option. He has to act now, the Arcanine is approaching him at an alarming rate and the Police officer has begun reading him his rights: "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law, you have the right to an attorney…"

"Boss! We are here! Get out of here!"

The officer who was reading his rights shook as something struck him right in the chest, he fell to the ground before the ringing of the gunshots even reached his ears, the sound of destruction, the silent bringer of death. Nobody moved at first, shocked by this sudden change of events, but the continuous hail of bullets brought the officers back into reality, they jumped into the cover of their vehicles and soon began to fire back, bullets were exchanged back and forth like waves of never ending winter hail, they torn through the frozen air and mist, each and every one of them ripping into something, living or dead, the car windows were soon shattered, then the lamps and light, and soon the will of men as they were hit, crying out loud for help, spilling the ground with shattered glass and blood alike.

Someone shouted from the opposite side of the street, "Boss! The hell are you doing? Get out of there! We can't hold them down forever!"

This acted as a bell ringer for both the Police and Alger as a Police Officer began shouting orders at the Arcanine, "Stop him! If he escapes now, then all is lost!" But his orders came a tad bit too late as Alger head-butted the Arcanine, knocking the larger Pokémon off balance, followed up by a tackle, sending the Arcanine straight into the side of a Police vehicle, his route of escape is now clear of resistance.

He made a run for it, it is now or never, he dashed past the Police car and headed straight for the corner of this street, if he could get past the corner in time, he could lose them. Some of the officers obviously noticed the fading figure of their fugitive in the distance as bullets begin to fly past him or digging themselves into the road under his paws, he lowered his head a bit, getting ready for the final stretch to safety.

Thankfully, none of the shots connected as the Officers could do nothing but watch his figure turned around the street corner, and vanished from view. As if on cue, the gunshots also stopped, their attacks are now nowhere to be seen, leaving them confused and frustrated, surrounded by a ring of wreck vehicles, and the mourns of wounded men.

* * *

Why?

Why did any of that happen?

How did any of that happen?

These questions plagued Alger's mind since the moment he is out of danger, who are those… people? Why did they help him? Why did they help him in such a way? Those innocent police officers did nothing wrong, it was a misunderstanding, they don't need to die, they don't deserve to die. He knows he needs to get to the bottom of this, to uncover who this "Boss", those people mistook him as, actually is.

He couldn't help but ponder and assess his current situation, according to the group of Police Officers that were trying to arrest him back then, he is now apparently the look-alike of the leader of an extremely powerful crime organization, meaning the Police would be after his head, and the citizens of this city would be as well, but strangely, or rather, thankfully enough, the street he is on is still barren, devoid of any life form but himself, the light drizzle has ended, and the morning mist has gradually dispersed away, yet the sun is nowhere to be seen, numerous clouds of various shades consumed the sky, locking the sun behind them. But the Police are still the least of his concerns, they are still a lawful origination, the gang that was trying to protect him on the other hand, is not. Surely enough, by now they would have realized the one they rescued isn't their leader, but someone who looks identical to their leader, he has dealt with criminals before, and he knew that they will do anything in their power to keep themselves safe, having another being out there who looks like them is not exactly beneficial to them, for all they know, he could form an deal with the Police to spread false rumours about them, or lower the organization's creditably by doing stupid and irrational things, or they even might suspect him to be a spy, sent by some other organizations seeking to infiltrate and destroy them.

A car came whizzing by him, speeding down the empty road, its tires ran over the water that had gathered by the roadside, the splashes barely missing him, he kept his eyes on the car, not daring to take them off. Thankfully, the driver didn't pay him any attention, the car eventually drove away and faded into the distance, Alger sighed in relief, Arceus knows what will happen if the driver noticed him and notified the Police, he is no mood to repeat what happened this morning again, perhaps walking on the road in broad daylight isn't the best idea, the streets are bound to be populated at some point, he couldn't stay on the streets with his current status, he need to find somewhere to stay out of sight. But where to though? There is nowhere for him to hide on the streets, getting on the rooftops of any of the surrounding buildings are highly unlikely for him and he doubts the anyone is willing to take in a mob boss. As of now, his best and only course of action is to continue walking, and see what he might find. At least he doesn't have to worry about finding the gang, as they will most likely find him first, what he actually need to worry about is getting away from them.

Engrossed in thought, he turned around a corner, not expecting to be bothered by anyone or anything for the time being, only to run head first into something metallic and unwelcoming, the force of the impact and the strong stench that assaulted his nostrils brought him back from the realms of his inner thoughts to reality as he back downed a few steps to inspect the object he collided with and where the hell he is now. It seems he had taken a turn a bit too early, causing him to be standing in a damp, narrow alleyway between the neighboring buildings instead of the broadway he was on, the object he ran into was no doubt a green garbage bin, the green paint job had be scraped off over the years of usage, revealing the white undercoat beneath, bags of garbage piled up high in the bin, giving out an absolutely sickening smell, reeking of a combination of rotten eggs, rancid old cheese and the sewer, like something that doesn't belong on this planet.

The alleyway itself was nothing special or spectacular, it is just like any other alleyway in a city, straight as a board, and as narrow as a drinking straw, the awkward angle in which the alley is made it impossible for sunlight to reach it during most of the daytime, it is only possible when the sun is directly above the alley, making it a fine example of the combination between darkness and the moldy relics of countless dining tables. Alger looked up at the dark, tall walls, to see if there is a stairway leading to the rooftops, only to be disappointed when he saw that the two fire escape staircases are nowhere near within his or his psychic power's grasp. With that no longer being an option, there is no reason for him to remain here, the nauseating smell is also not helping, he turned and backed out of the gloomy alleyway.

"Going somewhere?"

The abrupted intrusion of a foreign voice made him stop, but luckily for him, or rather unluckily, he doesn't have to search for the source of the voice, as it is standing right in front of him, blocking his path to the main broadway, the figure is of a hulking human, most likely to be in his thirties. His beard is messy and uncut, extending all the way across his chin, his face is rugged and dotted with the marks of time, creases and scars. Dirty, gray tipped hair hang draped his forehead, making the smile on his face seem more disturbing than it already is, whether it is intentional or not. The plain leather jacket he had on is battered, even without any close inspections, Alger could already spot a few holes here and there, but what caught his attention is something else, it is a small emblem embedded into the left side of the leather jacket, odd, he doesn't really look like someone who goes to gym or belong to a certain hobby club, but he figured he will find out what all that is about pretty soon.

"...Yes, I am going somewhere, and I would re grateful if you could stop blocking my path, going into this alley isn't exactly a part of my plan in the first place." Alger's eyes narrowed, he knows that this man did not come with good intentions, probably with orders concerning him, but it won't hurt to try and see what he might dig out of him before going ahead and knocking him out.

"Oh, my apologies… 'Boss', I will move out of your way immediately." The man chuckled, "Or rather… I am sorry I can't do that… Imposter. But need not to worry, I am not here to, well, for a lack of a better word, take care of you, our boss has taken a… peculiar fascination with your sudden appearance and has kindly invited you over for some tea. If I were you, I would come along peacefully with me, the boss ordered us to not to kill you, but he didn't say anything about bring you back in one piece, isn't that right Borice?" He nodded towards another figure who just turned around a corner and joined the confrontation. The newcomer is wearing a plain white mask this time, covering all of his facial features except for his dark, blonde hair, Alger noticed that he is wearing the same kind of leather jacket as the man, with the same emblem, through the opening of his jacket, he caught a glimpse of a stock of a handgun.

With a plan forming in mind, Alger replied to the man in a flat tone of voice, "...Your boss does seem like a kind man, and I appreciate the fact that he is willing to take the time to meet me rather than kill me on sight. However..." He could see the smile on the man's face slowly fading away, "As much as I would like to meet him, I will have to say no to this invitation, there are too many interchangeable variables and too many things that could go wrong. I am well aware of the fact that you two are probably ordered to kill me if I refused said invitation, or probably kill me even if I accepted said invitation."

"Is that a no that I hear?" The man's faded smile began to grow once again, as if he wanted him to refuse the deal.

"Yes, and I will be leaving this alleyway, alone." His form suddenly dashed to the side as a massive garbage bag raised itself from the trashcan, surrendered by a blue field of energy and flung itself straight at the man's face, knocking the surprised human off his balance. Borice snapped out of the shock in the first few seconds and reached for his gun under his belt, but his own firearm was suddenly surrounded by the same blue field of energy and went off without him even touching it, the bullet shattering his knee as the masked man cried out in pain and fell to the ground, clutching his broken knee and writhing in agony. The other man managed to get the garbage bag off his face and wipe it clear of the foul liquid, but he only managed to catch a glimpse of the Umbreon before its head slammed right into his face, finally knocking the human unconscious as he fell to the ground with a grunt.

Alger stood on the man's chest, panting a bit, it was a risky move, he knows that himself, but it was his one and only option in that situation, usually the end don't justify the means, but in this instance, he thinks it does. But he is not quite out of the situation just yet, the masked man is down, not out, he is still very much a threat if he could snap out of the pain and reach for his gun. Luckily for him, the poor man is still laying on the cold ground, mourning. Using psychic again, he lifted the gun out of the man's belt and tossed it into the nearest trash can, he did eventually found an opportunity to learn the mechanics of a firearm, but he was never a fan of using them, he only consider them as a last stand option.

Hopping off the man, he walked past them and headed for open space, that gunshot couldn't have gone unnoticed, meaning the Police could be here any second now, and he doesn't imagine his second encounter with them will be pleasant, not that the first one was pleasant in any shape or form.

"You do realize that they are never going to cut you lose until you are dead, right?"

...Random voices, again.

Except for this time, it originated within the depths of the alleyway.

Alger sprung around, his ears perked up, trying to locate the source of the voice, the darkness doesn't hinder his sight, but he couldn't spot anything within this garbage pit. "...You have a better chance of me listening to you when I can actually see you."

The unknown figure answered him with a chuckle, then there was a suggestion of movements from beyond one of the trashcans, it was indistinct and could be easily missed if one is not paying any attention, like a piece of shadow drift across the ground. Then the footsteps came echoing from behind that trash can, it was not the sound of human shoes tapping on hard concrete, but rather… paw pads? Alger's questions were soon answered when a quadruped figure appeared from behind the can, he has a black cape tied around his neck, covering up most of his body with a black fedora on top of his head, shielding his face from view, A thin paper cigarette hung from his bottom lip, its faint red light is the only thing visible beneath his hat, a small trail of smoke escaping from the corner of his mouth danced its way to the sky. A raspy voice, as coarse as unpolished granite, emerged from the figure, "Now you do see me, do you believe me?"

"...I think I already know and believe in what you said before you even appeared. Who are you, why are you trying to help me?" Alger's eyes are fixated on him in a serious stare, he doesn't know what this person is trying to accomplish, is he a friend, or a foe?

The figure took a puff of his cigar, seemingly to be in no rush for anything,"Now now… My name is not of anyone's concern at the moment, what difference would it make to the current situation if you learned my name? As for why I want to help you… You see, myself is a wanted man by multiple organizations, judging from all of that, you are one as well, you might not have done anything wrong, you might be completely innocent, but as of now, you are a wanted man like I am, I always like to help the ones in need, especially when said person is one of my kind."

"...And why do you think I can trust you?"

"Well..." The figure took one last puff of smoke before dropping the cigar onto the ground, not even bothering to crush it, "I am the only one who hasn't tried to kill you, and your chance of survival is slim to none when *they* are coming after you, I know a safe place that we can stay for an indefinite amount of time until you can plan something out, and of course, I will provide assistance if I can, you are new around here, so you will need the help. And besides, if I really want you dead, I could have done it while you were preoccupied with those gang members, instead of confronting you right now."

"..." Alger hesitated, he knows this figure is most likely right, whoever is after him are bold enough to shot up the Police in broad daylight, if they did come after him with everything they got, there is no way he is going to survive, and he more time before he can beam to a different world, "...You mentioned that you know I am new here, how do you know?"

Alger was almost certain the figure smirked at his question as he turned away and walked into the depth of the alleyway, "I know everyone. You better hurry up if you want my assistance, time won't stop for you when you are hesitating."

As the figure got further and further away from him, Alger sighed, before running up to the cloaked Umbreon, following him into the unknown.

* * *

Did he make the right decision?

Should he put his life at the hands of a stranger?

Alger pondered these two questions for the majority of his journey down in the dark sewage system below the busy city streets, his rings casting a feeble glow into the darkness around him, its silence disturbed only by the rhythmic clattering of their paws against the wet, moss covered concrete slabs, and the infrequent sounds of water dripping onto the dry waterway next to him, littered with ruined paper, broken bottles, tattered clothing and a very unpleasant smell of moldiness. It seems to him that this part of the sewage system was originally populated by either Pokemon or humans, the most desperate ones out of the bunch, or no one in their right minds would live here for any extended periods of time.

The stranger said little to nothing since they entered this tunnel, he never even turned back once to check on him, as if he doesn't really care if he is following along or not, perhaps he really doesn't care if Alger trust him or not, maybe he is just doing a duty, a service for his own kind, if the person he is trying to help doesn't want it, he won't push it. But why remain so secretive? Alger can understand how this line of work might be dangerous since there is no telling if the person you are trying to protect might double-cross you, and having a hat to hide your face can protect your identity, the cape really isn't necessary unless you have some scars or marks on your body that will make you very easy to identify, but why dimmed your rings as well? It is a technique that all healthy members of his species possess, but it is only used when one is trying to conceal themselves in the darkness to either escape or attack, he doesn't see how hiding your rings will hide your identity unless you-

Then something clicked inside his mind.

Unless you have some abnormal ring colors.

Another shiny like him? Even though that is the most probable conclusions, Alger knows from experience that there can be other colors to an Umbreon's rings than just yellow and cyan, he remembers meeting an Umbreon with flicking red rings, his name was… Keron, he recalled, though they never really spoke much, and there are… those green rings, Alger shuddered, that was a journey he never wishes to undertake again.

The hooded Umbreon seems to have noticed this tiny movement from his companion, his paw steps slowed and broke the silence that fogged over them, "Is there something wrong? I am not making you uncomfortable, am I? I am certainly not known for my hospitality, but I do what I can."

Alger is surprised that he actually asked him if anything is wrong, but what surprised him even more is that he noticed he shuddered without even looking at him, he must be paying real close attention to him in secrecy. "...Yes, I am fine, just recalled some rather unpleasant events from the past, I hope you understand."

"Ah, yes. Of course I understand, in our line of work, events like that are certainly… unavoidable, no matter how undesirable they might be, but every career has to start somewhere, the way of crime is no different than working as a postman, you get you letter from someone, you deliver the letter to the recipient, you receive your payment. Once you have gathered enough payments, you will open your own Post Stop and hire other postmans to work for you. And eventually, you will have to retire from the line of work, so you put someone else in charge while you laid back in and watch your industry bloom. See what I am talking about? Many thought that Mafias are a messy business, all the complicated relationships makes this system extremely unpredictable, but in reality, if you know what you are doing, it is as simple as delivering a letter." The stranger replied without looking back.

"...Are you, implying something?" His words unnerved Alger to a certain extent.

The furred creature only chuckled in slight amusement at his question, "I am only implying something if you think that I am implying something. Was I postman? Almost certainly. Do I own a Post-stop? Less likely. But keep in mind, Mister, if every example I make is true, this city would now be floating in outer space encased in a glass dome with a piece of rock as its mayor. Though I will gladly admit that I am a businessman, I own several establishments all over the city, bars, shops, factories… You get the point, you need to have the authorities believe that you are not the person they are looking, or else you simply won't get a single day of peace."

His tendency to not answering his questions directly annoyed him slightly, but then again, if he is talking like this, there has to be a reason behind it, nor could he force himself to get an answer out of him, not only that would be rude, it might very well cost him his life as he doesn't know what this hooded Umbreon is capable of. Instead of inquiring any information on his previous statement, he decided to change the subject, "...If that is the case, I am presuming that the establishment we are heading towards is owned by you? Or at least owned by a friend?"

"Ah, you are a bright one, aren't cha'?" The stranger replied, it seems his guesses were indeed correct, "Yes, the establishment, or 'Dicer's Refuge' as it is named, is where we are currently headed for, I will gladly admit that out of all of my bars and liquor stores, this is my favorite one. Mainly due to its drinks, the bartender there does a wonderful job at what they do. Tell me Sir, do you drink?"

"...I have attempted before, but the taste of alcoholic drinks is just something that I cannot stand, so in other words, no." Alger frankly admitted that.

"You don't? You are certainly a peculiar one, most of the people I know drinks, even myself, but no matter, it was just a question out of my own curiosity. But nonetheless, we are almost there, this way please." He made a hard left turn into an even smaller tunnel cut into the walls with its roof almost touching their ears, Alger took notice that it seems to lead to nowhere, a dead end, out of caution, he stopped at the entrance of the tunnel, eyeing the hooded figure closely for any sudden movements.

The hooded Umbreon didn't seem to notice that Alger has stopped, he walked a few more steps forward before stopping and turning towards the walls on his right, reaching out his front paw, he pressed down upon one of the bricks that lined the walls, a crackling noise was then heard, like communication being established between two radios, "Package one is here and ready for pick up at the Bus stop." He then looked back at Alger, who has now begun to approach him, "And an additional package as well." A moment of silence followed before the stone slabs above the Umbreon suddenly slid away to the side as a soft glow of light cast down upon him, "Come on now, up here." He motioned Alger to follow him as he leaped out of the tunnel through the opening above.

Knowing that there is no turning back at this point, Alger came under the light and leaped out of the tunnel with one swift motion, the sudden increase in light intensity made him squint his eyes a bit, but he can still tell that they are in a room of some sort, it very much resembles the interior of a closet, though much larger with a lot more shelves lining the wooden plank walls, loaded full of wine bottles, arranged neatly in rolls and stacked on top of each other, there are three large barrels at the other end of the room, almost reaching to the ceiling with a little tap on its side.

The hooded Umbreon is currently whispering something to a human who most likely opened the entrance for them, the human is dressed in what seems to be a suit without sleeves with a white shirt underneath, completed with a black tie, a classic bartender attire. Alger also noticed something different with his paws compared to his own, he is folding a cigar in front of him with one of his front paws at an impossible movement for him to accomplish.

 _"So that is the trait of this world,"_ He thought to himself, _"Quadrupedal creatures have paws that can act similar to hands, it is a shame that this is a trait I do not possess, or it would certainly have made my life much easier."_

The bartender nodded and raised back up from the Umbreon's eye level, a man in his fifties judging by his graying hair, "Gentlemen, would you please follow me." he said as he turned and began to climb up the stairs leading out of the cellular,

"Come on now boy, this is the last stretch." The strange nudged to Alger as he trotted past him, following the bartender and hopping up the stairs, "Don't be so stiff, you are safe here."Alger complied as he walked up to the stairs, he still can't believe the situation he ended up in due to pure chance, but hey, at least he is safe in here.

Safe, for now.


	6. The Boss (Part 2)

"So tell me boy, tea, or coffee?"

The duo sat together in an isolated corner of the bar, facing each other, it is probably now very late at night, given how sparsely populated the bar actually is, the only few that are left besides themselves are the bartender that lead them up from the wine cellar, who is currently serving drinks to a ragged looking man at the bar stand, a few drunken Pokémon and human littered here and there within the interior, not paying any attention to anything besides the drinks in front of them.

A stereotypical bar, he thought to himself, nothing like the bar the Alan owns, but again, his bar is an exception in the first place. Gone are the beautiful paintings that lined the walls, the soothing piano playing in the background and the general cozy and homey feeling, replaced by a strong smell of stale beer and body odor in the stagnant air, the random blabberings coming from various minds intoxicated and numbed by alcohol and a faint sense of despair, lingering in the air, radiating from the drunken individuals, this place is nothing but a den of corruption and alcoholism, no healthy man would come here, only the ones who wish to seek solace in drinking, trying to run away from reality and their depressing lives, trying to hide from the problems, because they are fearful, fearful of facing the problem, so they ran and ran, until they simply have nowhere to go.

The hooded figure took a puff of his cigar and blew the smoke out from his nostrils as he waited for Alger's response, letting it join the already polluted air. He took notice that his eyes seem to be drifting from place and place, looking around the bar, "Not the prettiest of all places, I will gladly admit that, but it has its charm if you are in low tiers of society, adorable drinks, and many more who probably suffered a similar fate to you, certainly an ideal place for some to visit regularly. But enough about that, you still have not answered my first question, tea, or coffee?"

Regathering his thoughts from the trance, he refocused on his current situation, "...I would take water if you don't mind, really not a fan of those kinds of beverages, especially the side effects, it changes how I behave, making me more hyperactive and more prone to make rushed decisions, two things that I would like to avoid if possible."

The stranger nodded, "I understand completely, as the old saying goes, different strokes for different folks." He then called out to the human bartender on the other side of the room, "A glass of water for this gentleman, and a cup of cappuccino for me, extra cream please. Thank you for your service, Mr. Zhang." The human bowed slightly in response, before disappearing behind the counter.

"Now, with that all settled, we can focus on your case, what is your plan now, Mister…?" He paused, asking Alger for his name.

"...The name is Alger."

"Alright then, Mr. Alger, what do you plan on doing now? Of course, I will help you to the best of my ability."

Alger leaned forward slightly, staring straight into the shielded eyes of the stranger Umbreon, "...I have some questions that need to be answered, now. First, tell me more about this… Mafia Boss that I resemble, if you even know him."

The figure chuckled at his inquiry as he removed his almost burnt out cigar from his mouth and tossed it into an ashtray, "Wasn't expecting anything else from you really. To answer your question, of course I know him, I told you, Mr. Alger, I know everyone. It is no wonder that you are being hunted down by almost everyone, because you look like an identical replica of him, well, except for the little pouch on your sides, don't recall he ever carrying those around. He is one of the greatest Mafia Bosses that ever lived, only know by the others as, Godfather, and almost a legendary figure amongst us. No one knows where he originally came from, was he a lowly thug at one point? Or was he a foreigner that happened to be the right place at the right time? No one knows for sure, we only know that he rose to power 15 years ago, and united the two main Mafias in the city at that time, not through violence, but through negotiation and compromisation. He was never one for violence, at least not anymore, his mind is his weapon, and it is effective to say the least, hence why he is able to stay alive for all this time, with so many people after his head."

"...Do you work for him?" His eyes narrowed in on the stranger, if he is working for him, he is not willing to take any chances.

"Who? Me? Of course not Mr. Alger, I am not that lucky to be working under such a talented individual, I am simply a businessman, nothing more, nothing less. He did, however, graced this property with his appearance plenty of times, he is rather fond of this bar for some reason, as I told you before, it has its charm. But I don't think you will have a chance of meeting him today, just arrived a tab bit too late for his usual schedule." He finished just in time for the bartender to arrive with the drinks he ordered, one glass of water for Alger, and one cup of cappuccino with extra cream for him, with a delicate heart pattern made up of milky foam, in contrast with the pale brown coffee beneath as the pleasant aroma of coffee beans began to mask over the unpleasant smells in the air, taking a small sip, he broke a faint smile, "Still as good as always, Mr. Zhang, you sure knows how to make coffee. Anyways," He set the coffee cup back down on the table, "Is there anything else you would like to ask me?"

"...Yes, one more thing," Alger ignored the glass of water in front of him as of now, not only is he not thirsty, he is also being cautious, he does not trust the person right in front of him completely, and it is possible for him to order the bartender to add in toxins into the water. "How do I find him? And most importantly, is it possible for me to bring him down?"

The stranger seems to be surprised by his question, "Why in the world would you want to bring him down? He did nothing to you, or at least none that I know off, it is not his fault that you look exactly like him."

"...He is the head of a Mafia, correct? That means he is a criminal, and needs to be taken down and arrested."

The shock that his words brought soon faded as the stranger gave a light laugh, "You are really not from anywhere around this city, aren't you? Or else no one in their right minds would wish to take him down, he is the greatest gift that Arceus has gifted this city with. Not only it is damn near impossible, but do you know what his Mafia did for this city? I believe there seems to be a bit of… stereotype about what Mafia's are like. No, they are not some thugs wandering around the streets, they have codes, and they have honor. There are things they do and things they don't. And things they fought against. But to the Government, they are all the same, vermins of the city no matter what they did, and must be eliminated for the sake of something they call justice, something long lost in their system from corruption and bribery. There was… a time period where this city suffered from a severe narcotics problem, it ran rampant among the middle of lower classes of the city, deaths due to shootouts and overdose were common, and the Government did nothing to stop it, or at least they tried and failed. You know how the police are, they cannot arrest anyone without evidence, combined that with the corruption within the force itself, then you got yourself a recipe for disaster." He took another sip of his coffee before continuing, "Then… he took action, not for himself, but for the city he loved, for the people he wished to protect. Himself and his Mafia waged wars against the drug cartels and eventually chased them out of the city, either alive, or in a body bag, anonymous donations were then made to hospitals and rehabilitation centers, he never confirmed or denied if these donations were made by him, but we know they are. It is all because of him, that this city exists, and is at the place where it is now."

A moment of silence followed as Alger took a minute to go through and think about what the stranger just said, what the Godfather did is indeed noble, but he doesn't know if this person is telling the truth, at all. He might just be spurting lies all over the place, hoping to blind him. "...How do I know that you are telling the truth?"

The figure responded with a flat tone, "It is simple, you don't. Risk taking Mr. Alger, life is all about risk taking. I know what you are thinking right now: 'Is this phony of a guy telling the truth or just flat out lying to me?' But think this way, what do I have to gain by lying to you that Godfather is a good guy when he is in fact not? If he is a villain, I only have things to gain if he is taken down. You might presume that I am someone who just wants to watch the world burn, but I can guarantee you that I am not someone like that, since that will be very, very bad for the business, won't you agree Mr. Alger? I am just a businessman after all, and I will do what is best for my enterprise."

However, Alger is not convinced at all, there are just too many questions left unanswered for him to trust this person, who is he really? How did he show up at the right exact time at the same alleyway that he was in? He doesn't know, nor does he expect him to give a straight answer to these questions, "...I still don't have the reason to believe you, one possible scenario is that he is actually providing protection for your enterprises, so that you may operate without the officials coming after you."

The stranger doesn't seem to be enraged by his words, in fact, he is unnaturally calm, not showing any major movements, "A very good guess, Mr. Alger, but sadly not the truth, far from it actually. You have made your point that you are doubtful of my words, I don't blame you, I wouldn't trust a stranger fully whom I just met hours ago, as the saying goes, for those who believe, no proof is necessary, for those who don't believe, no proof is possible, we could sit here all day with me trying to convince you that Godfather is not a villain, but that would be pointless, nothing but a waste of both of our's time. Now..." He paused the Bartender came by and removed the empty coffee cup from the table, "Even if I wish to aid you to take down Godfather, I am afraid that I am powerless to do so, Godfather keeps his tracks well hidden, no one knows where he is. However, if you still wish to talk about getting out of this city, I believe that ca-"

"Hey… Hey! I know you! You were… you were that Umbreon from that alleyway!"

This abrupt yelling from behind surprised both Umbreon.

Alger instantly jumped back onto his paws and sprung around to see who is talking. At the entrance of the bar, there is a very familiar looking human, the same messy and uncut beard, the same scarred face, and the same greasy, grey tipped hair, albeit this time around they are slightly tainted by blood oozing from an open wound on his forehead, he still have his leather jacket on, but now it looks like someone dragged that thing through a car wash, wet and torn, the man was shaking, while pointing his finger right at Alger.

The man stumbled forward, finger still pointed at Alger, "That is - That is him! Godfather! That is your impersonator right there! Kill him! Kill hi-" But the poor man never got to finish his sentence, a figure seems to have materialized from the shadows behind him, towering over the man, the figure is cloaked by a brown trench coat, reaching all the way past his waist, with the belt fastened around his middle, his face is hidden from view, protected by the shadows cast by his rather large brown fedora.

The figure grabbed the man by his neck and yanked him back like he weighs nothing, proceeding to slam his face right up against the wall, a sickening noise of flesh being squashed could be heard before the man flopping down onto the ground, unconscious. As this event was unfolding, nobody in the bar seems to have paid them any attention, not the bartender, not the customers, almost like this was of the ordinary.

The cloaked man soon gained a more formal composure after that brief violent encounter, he folded his hands behind his back, now looking at the direction where the two Umbreon were situated, or more accurately, in the direction of the hooded Umbreon, as if waiting for further instructions. He unnerved Alger, greatly, not only because how fast he managed to knock out another human being, it is also due to his shadowy appearance, night vision is something that all Umbreon possesses, allowing them to see through the darkness as if it weren't there, but… he cannot see this man's face behind the shadows, almost like he has no face at all, replaced by a permanent cloud of shadows.

"He is not something that you should be worrying about as of now." He mentally scolded himself for being distracted from what is obviously a bigger threat… His friend over here."...I believe you have some explaining to do, a lot of explaining." His whole body begin to tense up, readying itself for a fight if there is one to come, the recharge on his ability should be finished by now, if he could not defeat him, escape is indeed an option.

"Good grief..." The stranger sighed and tipped his hat even lower, "Just as I thought everything was going according to plan… And the irony that individual who foiled it was one of our own, instead of you. I believe this is one of those accusations, where you planned your every move, analysis everything, consider every single possibility and rem-"

"...You have five seconds to give me the explanation I demanded, anything that happens after my time limit is none of my responsibility." Alger interrupted him,

"Please, take it easy there, Mr. Alger. There is no need for a threat." The hooded Umbreon motioned him to calm down, still maintaining the same composure, as if he is not worried about the possible dangers that Alger might impose. "Wouldn't want you breaking anything here, bad for the business, of course customers would be hesitant if they saw a room full of broken glasses and smashed furniture. But as per your request, I believe an explanation is in order, or it would be otherwise unfair to you. So… where shall we begin? How about we start from the beginning? From the first question you asked? About my name? I have many names, Mr. Alger, most of them given by other people, the Government calls me a criminal," He brought his front paw up again, this time reaching for the tie that held his cloak onto him.

"The people calls me a Saviour." The black cloak slipped off his body, revealing the rest of his sleek form, his glowing rings slowly returning to their original brightness, the same cyan blue, just like his.

"My friends call me Godfather." He reached up and tossed his fedora to the side.

The stranger looked up as his eyes met Alger's, the same pairs of yellows eyes lined with strips of blue, staring into one and other, "But to me, I am, Alger, what a pleasure to meet you. Mr. Alger."

* * *

The duo stared at each other in silence, not because they are fearful, each has their own reason for staying silent. In the background, everyone in the bar went on with their own business, not paying them anything attention, maybe they don't care, or they don't dare to.

Alger is practically on the edge of leaping out of his seat, nothing about the past events adds up, how did he know that he will go in that alleyway? If he did know, why did he go in himself after sending in his own agents? What is his goal of bringing him here? He doesn't know, all he knows that he is not planning on killing him, at least not now, he is better off getting some answers out of him rather than panicking. "...You answered my first question, now for the following, why? What are you planning on doing with me?" he closely scrutinized his look-alike, trying to see if he has shown any emotion that might be helpful in identifying his thoughts, but to no avail, the Umbreon kept a stern face on, staring back at him, though he is almost certain there is a light smirk hiding behind that emotionless mask of his, enjoying his reaction.

"Of course Mr. Alger, I believe that could be arranged, but before that, please allow me to dismiss my own men. Dext," He called out to the human in the brown trench coat, still standing motionless behind them. "You are dismissed for the day, make your free time productive, and call our ambulance for the man, if he were just a little bit brighter, he could have saved himself the suffering. And please remind me tomorrow to inform our Underbosses to recruit members that are actually competent."

The man nodded and muttered, "Yes… Godfather..." Before grabbing the ankles of the still unconscious agent and dragged him out of the bar through the front door.

"Now, with that all taken care of," He turned back to Alger who haven't moved a single muscle, "Is that what you wish to know? Very well, then you shall know. I was notified this morning that a couple of my Underbosses engaged in a shootout with the Police trying to save an Imposter who is pretending to be me, just as I was readying myself for my morning stroll along the streets, but I will be honest here, you didn't really even make the attempt to conceal yourself, one of our agents had eyes on you as soon as you ditched the police and reported your position back to me, I order two of our agents to follow you to and make contact if possible, while myself took the path down in the sewers for concealment, we both know what happened next." Godfather took notice of how tense Alger actually is as he made the attempt to reassure him that no harm will be done to him, "Please, Mr. Alger, there is no need to be so tense, harming you was none of our intentions."

"...Then please explain, why am I here? What is your purpose of bringing me here besides eliminating me? My existence is not exactly beneficial to you, so taking me out of the picture would be the best thing to do." Alger responded, hoping to render his look-alike speechless

However, his wish was not granted as Godfather only shook his head and responded swiftly, "Good grief, Mr. Alger, you really didn't listen to anything that I said, is being an honorable Mafia the same to you as being an ordinary thug? Perhaps, if I put it in this way, you would have a better understanding. From the moment we have met to where we are now, there has been a total of 11 different opportunities which I could have taken to end your life in mere seconds, but I didn't, evident by that you are still alive and well, and not missing any body parts." He paused for a moment before suddenly reaching forward, causing Alger to jerk back a little, he grabbed the glass of water meant for Alger, who still haven't taken a single sip out of the cup, and brought it forward to his lips, "I know why you are hesitant to drink this water, Mr. Alger, you are afraid that it might be poisoned, I certainly cannot blame for being cautious, after all, that is how I managed to stay alive all these years. But-" He drained the glass to the bottom in one gulp and set it back down on the table, "What we fear, are not always what is real."

This has to be the third or fourth time when he didn't answer his questions directly, and changed the subject to something related to his question, but not really of his concern, in this case, it only served to further confuse Alger, "...I still have my doubts about your intention, but tell me, if you didn't bring me here to kill me, what do you want from me? Answer directly to my question, please." Alger responded, getting a bit impatient with Godfather constantly dodging his inquiries.

"Not a big fan of my ways of giving answers, I presume? Since you demanded me to give a straight answer, it wouldn't be appropriate for me continue to be vague. The truth is far simpler than what you might have imagined, , I simply wish to know more about you, to see whether you are a friend or a foe, excuse me for a moment." Godfather paused the conversation between them and begin digging through the underside of his cloak, soon producing a pack of cigars and a lighter. Alger watched him light up another as he inhaled deeply, letting the smoke seep into his body, before exalting out, letting the smoke blend into one with the air, "Old habits die hard, even when it is detrimental to my health." He said to Alger, flicking the filter as ashes sprinkled across the ashtray. "Another reason why I wish to know you more is to consider the possibility to recruit you into our ranks, you will be a very valuable asset, having identical looks with me, but it has become apparent to me some time ago you are obviously not fit for our line of work, a shame really."

"...Then what are you going to do with me now?" Alger asked, silently preparing himself for what he might say.

"You are not an enemy, and we could become acquaintances if you wish, in other words, you are not a threat, you are free to leave if you wish, but please, stay in places where the Police cannot find you if you are planning to remain in this city for any extended periods of time." He dropped his formal stance and laid back into the couch, "My door is always open if you ever need anything, Mr. Alger, it has been a pleasure talking to you."

"...I would say the same to you as well." Alger gave Godfather a nod before hopping off his seat on the couch, trotting away to the entrance of the bar, until he finally disappeared through creeks between the glass doors.

One fading figure brought forth another one to take its place, "Should I… go and keep an eye on him, Godfather?" The human, whom Godfather referred to as Dext, stepped out of the shadows behind him, almost like he has always been there, watching everything.

But he dismissed his suggestion with a wave of his paw, "There is no need, Dext, it is not that I doubt your ability, it is just I don't like to take unnecessary risks, if he somehow managed to find out that you are tailing him, our credibility will plummet." Staring at the glass front doors, he took another puff of his cigar, "It is best for him to find out for himself, whether we are telling the truth, or the lies."

* * *

The sun has long faded from view as the moon rose up to take its place, its pale light pour through the narrow openings of the cloudy sky, outlining the drifting clouds with a silvery frame. Unlike its counterpart, the moon brought forth no warmth, only cold breezes that push against the Shiny Umbreon as he made his way across the paved path.

The park appears to be wholly abandoned, like a building that fell into disrepair after its inhabitants left it, gone were the clean cut lawns and trimmed bushes, replaced by a tangling mess made up of moss, weeds, and the intertwined roots of the great oak trees. Despite all of this, the streetlamps lining the path are still in working condition, providing this swirling vortex of chaos with some sense of order.

Alger is in no way at ease, even if the bar is way behind him, his ears perked up for any sudden noises, his eyes scanning the messy hedgerows for any sudden movements, he doesn't know if all of this is just a bait, that he intentionally let him go for him to be assassinated here, it is entirely a possibility, and with the amount of control he presume that he has over the city, he could simply manipulate the police to ignore this case entirely, but so far, he hasn't spotted anyone tailing him.

He tried again, seeking that flow of energy within him that would be his only path of escape, it is surely there, but not strong enough, he just need a little bit more time for it to replenish itself, how long that might be, in his current situation, every prolonged second means an increased chance for him to encounter danger.

Eyeing further down the path, he noticed an empty bench right under one of the metal lampposts, a rather inviting sight to the tired Umbreon, he supposes resting a bit won't hurt, and he does need some time to regather his thoughts.

The Godfather… he gave him too much to think about, a figure that gives him a mixed feeling. Can he be considered as a friend? Alger doesn't know, even at this point he still can't figure out statements he made about his own past are true or not, there are no clear indicators if he is lying or telling the truth.

But what would he have gained by lying? Godfather did mention at the end that his original intention was to recruit him into their ranks, and how he realized he isn't fit for their line of work, but at what point did he realize that? Before the retelling of his story or after? Alger closed his eyes in mild annoyance, he shouldn't let his words get to him, maybe this is what he is trying to achieve, to confuse him, it is probably the best for him to just leave all of this behind and forget about it.

Reopening his eyes, he stopped dead in his tracks as he was greeted with something he did not expect to see, the empty bench isn't so empty now, a figure that wasn't there before is now sitting on it, casually reading a piece of newspaper like nothing is out of place, the man is wearing a white baseball bat, pulled down far enough to cover half of his face,a shoddy looking blue winter jacket covered most of his torso, he doesn't recognize his outfit, but he recognizes his face, or rather the lack of facial features, clouded by a permanent block of shadows.

It is Dext.

Not willing to take his chances and deal with him now, Alger begin to slowly back off, the night is his playground, but fighting a battle without knowing your enemy's capabilities is dangerous, if he could get away without a battle, why fight?

"There is no need to flee, Mr. Alger, I am not here on Godfather's orders, in fact, he specifically ordered me not to follow you, I am merely here on my own accord." His escape attempt was thwarted as Dext already knew he is here, the bizarre human remained on the bench, still flipping through the pages of the newspaper.

Alger stopped as the human called out to him, preparing himself for the worst outcome, "...Then tell me, what are you here for? I thought I was free to go."

"Well yes, you are, just uhh..." He closed the newspaper and set it aside, "I just want to talk to you about something, that is all. I guarantee you I am not armed, normally I would have knives lining the inside of my jacket and more stored in various different pockets for use, like this front pocket on my jacket," He motion towards the pocket in question and reached into it, "Normally I would have pocket knife in here for backup uses, but now it… Should be...empty..." He trailed off his sentence as a small pocket knife is brought out of the pocket, for a few seconds, neither of the two parties said anything, only staring at the knife in silence.

Dext gave a nervous chuckle,"Ok… Maybe I was slightly armed after all, this is uh… quite awkward… on my part, but you have to excuse me, with so many knives, you are bound you lose track of a few until they turn up in the most unexpected of all places… Like the time where I found one in my- I think we are getting off topic here…"

Alger doesn't know if he should feel amazed, puzzled or just downright confused, he didn't imagine Dext to be someone quite like this, given how he acted in front of Godfather when they first encountered, "...Would you mind explaining why you are acting so different now and back in the bar?"

"Ah, yes, that." After placing the knife back into his jacket, Dext leaned back into the bench and stared up at the night sky, "Well, you see, Godfather doesn't like agents who talks too much or just spent too much time yapping around and doing nothing, and he is my boss, so to make a boss happy, you will have to go by his standards, hence the reduced speech while I am with him. When I am off work, I am basically like this."

"...Very well then." Alger shifted a bit on the spot, "...So what do you wish to talk about?"

"Oh, it is nothing," He said dismissively, still not looking at Alger, "If you are expecting some preaching of the good ways or things that will leave you deep in thought, then you will be wrong, I am not that kind of people. I can tell from your reactions back then that you didn't believe anything that Godfather said, or at least not fully, therefore I can make the presumption that you are not going to believe anything that I said either, so I am not going to even bother with that, instead, would you like to hear a story, Mr. Alger?"

"...Sure." Alger replied in a flat tone, slightly curious at what this human is trying to pull off.

"Alright," He cleared his throat, "This is a story that… two very strange individuals told me some time ago, and I wish to share it with you. Long long ago, there was a group of people that existed within a cave, ever since they stepped into this world, they lived their lives chained to the cavern walls, all they could do was to stare at the walls of the cave in front of them, looking at the shadows of trees, animals and other humans on the wall reflected by the fire, they thought that is all the existed, because to them, that is the truth. But one day, one of them was taken out of the caverns, onto the surface, he discovered more than he thought is possible, humans, animals plants, they are all real, existing and breathing, dancing in front of the fires, not just some shadows on the wall. Now the caveman has known the truth, of what is truly out there. But once he returned to the cavern, and told his companions of what he has seen... no one would believe him, for they do not know the truth because they know nothing else."

Alger narrowed his eyes, "...Are you attempting to imply something?"

"Of course not, Mr. Alger." He only smiled, "It is just a stupid little story that I wish to share with you. However, it seems like my time is up, as much as I would like to stay and converse more with you." Dext got up from the bench and straightened his jacket, tipping his hat at Alger, "Until next time, Mr. Alger." With that, he turned around as the Umbreon watched his form slowly disappear into the darkness of the night, leaving him alone under the streetlight.

 _ **End of Act 1**_

* * *

Well! That is, the end of Act 1 of this series, there will two more mini chapters that follow this, they are ideas I have but not big enough to be expanded into a real story, each of them will be around 2000-3000 words long or even shorter, but I still wish to share them with you.

Act 2 will probably take a bit longer to come out, but I promise you, It will be worth the wait.


	7. Act 2: The Mad

**Act 2: A New World**

 **Welcome to Act 2! I hope you will enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"...Brother, do you feel it?" A voice echoed out from the darkness that permanently resides within this dimension, rendering the speaker practically blind, he was never fond of the darkness, and now he cannot even escape its grasp, it wrapped around him like a ragged, thick blanket, clinging onto and seemingly melting into every inch of his skin, nearly suffocating him. He doesn't recall how long he has been trapped here, a year? No, that is too short. A century? No, that is too long. Counting the days seems… pointless, he originally did, when he was first tricked and trapped in here, thinking it won't last long before they broke out of here, but that fantasy as soon shattered, along with his hope.

Shattered, but not lost.

He believes he will get out of here one day, his brother promised him, he promised that one day they will be free again, free to roam the universe once again, he doesn't know how long it will take, but he trust his brother, he always do, he never lied to him, he never tricked him, if he said these days will come to an end, they will.

Another voice answered him, coming from somewhere directly opposite of him, presumably the speaker's brother, even if he cannot see him, his voice alone comforted the speaker, "Yes… I do. Do you think he might be the one?"

"I… don't know, brother, you have seen what his kind has done in another world, we have seen it, he almost destroyed it, we need to unify this planet, not reduce it into rubble. How do you know if he is not like them?"

"I don't know either, I know a lot of things, Anthon, but that doesn't mean I know everything, nor can I predict the future."

"Then… what should we do?"

"We do what we always have done since our imprisonment, I know what you are worried about, Anthon, but chance taking is unavoidable, if we wish to ever escape this place. Will he perish? Or will he succeed? We won't know until we have tried. Put him in with the others."

"Yes, brother."

The duo fell silence once again, plunging the darkened dimension into silence, once again.

* * *

All is calm, and all is well, he thought to himself, following a thin trail amidst the prospering forest, It certainly has been a long time since he has arrived in a world where he can just relax, and not having to worry about anything at first, this world is sure populated by Pokemon, Alger can tell that from the scent left behind on the trail by those who traveled down it, and they are certainly civilized to a degree, evident by the roughly paved path he is walking on.

The path is neither wide or well maintained, a handful of weeds have already pushed past the gravel sands that lined the road, exposing their newly grown leaves and stems to the outside world, but it will do. Instead of a straight path cutting through the vast forest like an arrow, the road twisted and bent, snaking around those trees that stood in its path, as if the road is alive, knowingly avoiding the plant life, unwilling to damage even the smallest of all saplings. The sun's brilliant rays shone from above, not even the thick forest canopy would block it completely, casting down onto the forest floor, lighting up the tangled roots of the trees as they crossed paths and seemingly merging into one another.

Alger took a deep breath of the fresh air, taking in the beauty of the scenery in front of his eyes as the path begin a slow descent in depth, the soft blue light emitted by its rings gradually increased in intensity as his eyes started to glow with the same calming light, the leather side pouch he was carrying opened on its own, and from it, a small notepad and a pencil floated out, surrounded by a blue field of energy, the notepad flipped open to an empty page, and the pencil began to scribble on it, floating just behind the Umbreon, following him. This imagery is too precious to pass up unrecorded, he thought to himself, trying to depict the scenery with words to the best of his abilities.

However, this gorgeous scenery did not last very long, looking ahead, the forest is growing thinner with each step he took, Alger presumed he is coming up to a clearing or something, but he soon realized that was not the case, as his ears picked up the faint sounds of water flow coming from directly down the path. Surely enough, as he draws closer towards the sound source, passing around a small grassy hill, the small, slow flowing stream came into his view, torrents of water cutting right through the forest, dividing it into two halves. The water clashed against the banks from time to time, white flickers splashed out from the water surface, like the fresh snow of December, only to fall back down and dissipate into the stream mere seconds later. The path is replaced by a bridge as it approached the stream's banks, the bridge is a simple structure of wood and clean cut stone, just wide enough for two medium sized Pokemon to pass side by side, there is also a wooden post by its side that resembles a road sign, but he is too far away to make out the writing on it, if he could even read this world's language, that is.

As he got closer, he noticed there is something else by the banks of the river, just behind road sign, something that is definitely alive, the pencil he was holding with psychic abruptly stopped its scribbling as the notepad slammed shut on itself, the floating items quicking returned themselves to the pouch on his side as the Umbreon stopped to consider his choices while taking a slightly more defensive stance, should he allow himself to interact with this world's inhabitants? He certainly couldn't dismiss the possible risks that accompany that choice, he doesn't know if this individual is aggressive, or if they can communicate at all. Maybe he should just-

He mentally scolded himself for thinking like that again, being cautious is good, but being overly cautious and constantly overthinking the current situation will only result in time wasted and fear unwanted. Compromising between logic and caution, he took a few steps to the side so he could get a full view of the creature behind the road sign while still remaining a safe distance away, the creature is currently crouched down along the bank, facing away from Alger, presuming to get a drink of water from the stream, it is definitely an Absol, evident by its blade-shaped tail and the sick like growth on the right side of its head. Though... something is off about this Absol, the supposedly clean, snow-white fur of an Absol is now dirty and ragged, tainted with dirt, dust and small stains of dried up blood from place to place, patches of fur have clumped together, presumably from the lack of grooming and care, all of these signs are certainly not encouraging the Umbreon to make contact with this Absol, but he went ahead and called out to the Pokemon nonetheless.

"Hello?"

The response from the Absol was almost instantaneous, its head jerked up from the water surface, rapidly looking all around it, as if spooked by Alger's greeting, after a few seconds it seems to have realized that the source of the greeting is right behind it as it backed up from the river banks and sprung around to meet the Umbreon, breathing heavily.

Alger already felt there is something slightly wrong with this Absol judging from its reaction, it is possible that he spooked the Absol by saying that greeting when it is not expecting anyone to be around it, but its reaction is too… jittery for it to be considered as a normal reaction, and its appearance is not exactly helping its case.

The Absol still said nothing, it just stood there, staring at Alger with a blank look on its face, it doesn't seem to be aggressive in anyway, but the look it had in its eyes greatly unnerved Alger, Vul once told him that one's eyes are the window to their souls, but when he looked into this Absol's eyes, he doesn't see a soul, or any emotions at all, he only see a pair of dilated, brown pupils, filled with confusion, rage and paranoia, socketed into a motionless face, a look that Alger knows all too well.

The look of madness.

A madness-ridden creature is just as dangerous as any other enemy, if not more, it will drill into their minds, causing it to spin out of control, taking away what is left of their destroyed selves while adding new and more dangerous thoughts, a new personality will arise from the ashes of the old, bearing no resemblance to the person they once were, luring them further and further away from the self they once know, until they simply no longer remember what they were like before. Creatures like these are usually erratic, unreasonable and unstoppable if they are to attack, since they no longer possess any rational thoughts, Alger realized the danger he is in now, there is no telling what this Absol will do next, he begins to slowly back off while keeping his eyes on the Absol.

The nameless Absol seems to have noticed that Alger is backing away, and much to Alger to surprise, it called out to him in a shaky voice, clearly feminine, "Wa… Wait!"

The suspicious Umbreon stopped, still staring at the Absol, "...Yes? Is there something you would like to tell me?"

"You are… you are one of us," The Absol is still breathing heavily, clearly distressed about something, "You… you have to leave this place, leave before they know! They know, they know, they always know, they are watching us, every one of us, they are always watching, leave! Now! You are… You are all just little kits in a box, waiting to scoop up by anyone, you don't see the dangers do you? You just assume there is no box and everything is alright and dandy? Every single one of you! Inbreds! Idiots! Mindless!" She screamed, seemingly getting very aggravated

all of a sudden for no apparent reason.

All of this nonsensical screaming coming from this Absol only made Alger more convinced that there is something clearly wrong with this Absol in the head, "...Miss, with all due respect, but are you feeling alright?"

The Absol's head twitched to the side at this question, "I am fine! I am good!" She diverted her gaze from Alger, looking aimlessly around the forest before refocusing on the Umbreon, "Why are you looking at me like that? Stop it! Stop it stop it stop it! Your rings are so bright, did you know that your fur is really nice looking?" She asked with a slight smile, almost like a kit pretending to be all innocent and cute, but in this case, it only served to disturb Alger even more.

Sensing he might be in danger if he chooses to stay here any longer, Alger begins to back off once again, but the female Absol was having none of it, "Why are backing away from me?" Alger didn't respond, only continue to back away slowly, his lack of a response only angered the Absol even more, "Why are you backing away?!", she yelled, this time effectively freezing Alger in place as he doesn't wish to find out what she would do next if he continues to back away.

The mad Pokemon seems relieved that Alger stopped, "Thank you… Do you know that your fur really shines in the sunlight? Like obsidian, smooth and reflective… No! No No No NO!" Her smile slowly grew into a snarl, "You don't deserve a fur like that, you are not fit for it, you lowly Dark Type."

The tension in the air was almost tangible, Alger really doesn't wish to harm this Absol unless he is left with no other choice, it is not her fault for acting like this, she is no longer in control of her actions, "...Miss, may I ask your name?" He asked, in hope of changing her point of focus to another subject.

"A name?" The hostility in her voice vanished, "A name… Ah! Yes! I do have one, it is… it is… Uh… Claris! Yes! That is my name!"

"...Claris, that is a good name." Alger secretly sighed in relief, it appears that his plan of distraction is working for now, "...Tell me, Claris, do you have a family? Kits? Mate? Anyone?"

"A...family?" Claris gave Alger a weird look, as if her confused mind could not process what he is asking, then she stopped, her look of confusion is replaced by one of happiness as a smile gradually spread across her face, "Ah! Yes! A family! How could I forget! There is… Uhh… My Mate, Bran! He is the most gentle and loving Mon I have ever met! And a good father! He sometimes handles our two kits better than I do!" Claris's face grew brighter as she talked, almost sounding like a normal caring mother, talking about her family.

This did relieve Alger a little bit, taking the pressure off the situation for now, "...And where are they now?" He asked, hoping to see if he can reach her family, seconds before he realized he made a horrible mistake by asking that question.

The Absol's eyes widen in shock, the question spooked her, scared her, it dived deep into her shatter mind, grabbing a repressed memory and forcibly yanked it out of the corner it was hiding in, the smile slowly faded from her face as tears started rolling down her cheeks. Soon, hysterical sobs begin to shook her entire frame, resonating from deep within her chest, "They! They took them away from me! They took everything away from me!" Her frenzied screams shook Alger to the very core, making his fur stand up straight up across his back, filled with rage and agony, borderlining wrath. "They kept me here they kept me here… Day after day after day after day… Saying it is for the greater good… Now I know, it is all a lie! It is all a fucking lie! I will... I will find them, and I will tear their throats out with my own claws! You.. you are one of them, aren't you? You are helping them, are you not?! Yes, yes, yes you are, You traitorous little scum… The filth of our kind!"

...Now would be a good time to run.

Alas, Alger reacted a few seconds late, just enough for the Absol to bring her front paw up, charging up a shadow claw and slashed at the Umbreon, despite Alger being nowhere near where she is, just as he was wondering what she is trying to do, he felt a breeze of wind went past him, followed by a wave of sudden sharp pain on his right shoulder and the strong metallic smell of blood, looking at where the pain originated, he saw three gashes on his shoulder, blood trickling down his front leg, tainting his fur with a hint of red, the Absol somehow managed to connect her attack without physically hitting him. His wounds heal fast, but the implication of the location of the wound means he is practically crippled in terms of mobility for a short amount of time, Claris, taking notice of her opponent's partially crippled state, began to advance towards Alger menacingly, eyes spelling out intents of murder.

"I don't like blood." She continued to mutter out her distraught grumbles, "It sticks to everything, slick and sickening, but yours, yours I can stand, the color of justice, the blood of a traitor. I shall cleanse you right off the face of this world, no one will know you ever existed, no one! Do you hear me?! No one!"

Alger stood his ground, his wounds still bleeding away, it would be some time before they are fully healed, the pain didn't bother him too much, but the inherent fear when fighting an unfamiliar opponent is, so far she has managed to connect a melee attack without coming into physical contact with him, he doesn't know what else she might be capable of, nor does he wish to find out, fighting a crazed opponent whose capabilities are unknown is inadvisable and severally disadvantages for him, but he has no other chance but to fight, he certainly cannot outrun a fully grown Absol in a wounded state, and running away would give Claris a clear view of his unprotected backside.

The Absol's steady advance soon grew into a sprint, teeth bared and charging right at Alger, seeking a fast ending to this battle, she leaped upwards when she is only a few meters away from Alger, coming down at him from above. Alger didn't move until the very last second, until her claws are mere inches from his face, he used feint attack to get around Claris and got out of the way of her attack with relative ease, causing the Absol to slam face first into the dirt as she did not expect her attack to miss. Using this as an opportunity, he charged up a Shadow Ball in front of his mouth and launched the volatile purple sphere of energy at the backside of Claris, who is still distracted trying to get the dirt out from her mouth, the energy sphere connected and exploded against her side, knocking the Absol off balance, but when the smoke cleared, it doesn't appear that the Shadow Ball has done any significant damage, the fur on Claris' body where the sphere hit are scorched and burnt, and that seems to be full extent of damage dealt by that attack.

Alger is well aware of his lackluster offensive capabilities, even for his species his attack is relatively weak, but it should have at least done something against an Absol, unless this is another aspect of her ability, damage resistance. However, the situation doesn't allow him any time to think, Claris has already gotten back onto her paws, only seem to be more enraged by his attack, "Who… Do you think you are?! How… How dare you attack me?! You! You will die! You will burn! Die!" The sickle-like growth on the side of her head begins to glow with a white energy, before she brought her head back and swung it towards Alger. Similar to last time, nothing seems to have happened, but Alger knows something is coming towards his way, a field of azure glow of rose up from the ground, surrounding the Umbreon, protecting him from any possible harm for a short while. Unsurprisingly, something invisible slammed into the Barrier walls of Protect, creating a noise sounding like something bursting due to pressure before it dissipated. Now Alger is certain that Claris is making use of something else other than her normal moves to attack him, but is it what exactly?

Displeased by the fact that Alger has managed to block her attack, Claris growled, but she did not continue to attack, knowing that the Barrier Walls created by the Umbreon will render any of her attempts useless, instead, she started circling the Azure Barrier, eyes fixed at Alger, waiting for the Barrier to drop before resuming her assault. Alger knows what she is waiting for, and he doesn't have much time before the Barrier drops, he needs to find away to fight her so that he can actually damage her.

Formulating a risky plan, he dropped the Barrier prematurely and attempted to feint out of his original position to escape a possible attack, but Claris was ready, her attack managed to catch the Umbreon, creating another cut on his side, though it did little to hider the Umbreon from running, after gaining some distance from Claris, he made a hard U-turn and charged right at her, a shadow ball forming in front of his muzzle. The surprise element was more or less there for Absol in pursuit, causing her to skidded to a stop, looking quite confused before deciding to not let this opportunity go to waste, horn glowing white with energy as she begins to charge up another attack.

He threw the Shadow Ball at Claris, who simply dashed a few inches to the side, confident that it won't hit her. However, unknown to her, Alger never intended for the Shadow Ball to hit her, he intentionally the lowered firing angles by a few degrees so that it will smash into the ground a few meters in front of her. And it did, the Shadow Ball detonated as it impacted the ground causing large amounts of dust and dirt to be hurled into the air, and some into Claris' face, practically blinding her for a few seconds, just the window of opportunity for Alger needed to get up close and personal, this time a ball of white energy forming up in front of his muzzle, seconds before it burst into a violent beam of energy, fracturing and branching into more beams as it traveled through the air. The Distortion Beam, courtesy of his look-alike.

Most of the beam failed to hit Claris head on as she sensed the large wave of energy coming at her from the side, giving her just enough time to get out of the way of majority of the beams, but some still managed to hit her, injuring her right side and hips quite severally.

Alger is breathing heavily, his whole body ached, that Distortion Beam took away too much of his energy to use, he still hasn't quite gotten used to how energy intensive it is, despite his look-alike's claims that it is very energy efficient. That Distortion Beam definitely crippled Claris for now, though judging how she is now clawing at the ground, struggling to get back up, it is only a matter of time before she is on her paws again. But now, Claris is in fact, the least of his worries, his ears picked up something else, coming from behind, they sound like… footsteps, rapid footsteps of several individuals.

Claris heard them as well, she whimpered at the sound of the distant footsteps, and begin to crawl away from Alger, seemingly wanting to run away from whoever is coming.

"Get a move on you maggots! I bet that crazy ass Absol jumped another one! No one is to die on my patrol!" Someone shouted in the distance. Turning around and looking down the road, Alger saw three individual coming past the small hill and running towards them, all dress up in some sort of armour with a similar style, the one taking the lead is a Typhlosion, holding a spear of some kind, while the two smaller Pokemon, a Nidoking and a Sandslash, are desperately trying to keep up with their overly energetic squad leader, rapidly closing in on Alger and Claris, but not before Claris made her escape as she limped her way into the forest, Alger did not try to stop her, he only stood by and watched as the Absol slowly disappeared into the thick undergrowth, vanishing from his view.

Soon the Typhlosion was in front of him, his spear by his side, kneeling down so they are of a similar eye level, Alger was correct on the fact that he is wearing some kind of armour, though most of the armour seems to have made out of wood, held together by ropes woven together by some kind of plant fibre with patches of metal here and there, most likely to provide some extra protection. There is also this insignia etched into the chest piece of his armor, resembling a circle encasing a spiral like structure with some vague rune-like symbols on the side, "Hey buddy, you alright? Tell us what happened. Did an Absol jump you?" He shook Alger a bit, eager to know what happened to him.

"...Yes, an Absol did jump me, sort of, but I managed to fight her off for now." He noticed the Typhlosion gritted his teeth at his words, a few spots of flames begin to flare up across the back of his neck, yet the ropes holding his armor together seems to be unaffected by the fire.

"That little bitch..." The Typhlosion muttered under his breath, just as his fellow teammates finally caught up with him, panting heavily, he turned around and shouted at them,"Hey, Narl! Dan! Stop standing around to do something! Narl! This Umbreon requires medical assistance now! And Dan! Stand guard just in case the bitch comes back to finish him off!"

Narl, presumably the Sandslash, saluted the Typhlosion, "Yes… Captain Nex...", she dragged her tired body closer to Alger as the Typhlosion, now know as Nex, moved past Alger with the Nidoking, most likely to be Dan, poking the bushes to see if Claris is anywhere near the group.

"Hey." Narl waved her long claws in front of Alger's face, gaining his attention, "It will be alright, you are safe with us, let me see your wounds." Alger obeyed and shifted to the left slightly, giving Narl a clear new of the cuts on his shoulder and side. "That is… some pretty deep wounds, hold still." She reached down to open a light green haversack by her side, carefully undoing the straps so that her long claws will not poke a hole in the bag, the Sandslash removed a roll of what seems to be bandages in one of her claws, possibly made with plant fibre judging how rough-looking it is, and a vial half-filled with a dark blue solution. Narl uncorked the vial, "This probably will sting, but it will help with the wound." She warned the Umbreon and poured some of the vial's content onto his wounds, it did sting a bit at first, but the pain was gradually replaced dull feeling of warmth as Narl begin to wrap the bandages around his exposed wounds.

"There we go! Now, move a bit tell me if any of the bandages feels uncomfortable and might restrict your actions." Narl then moved back a bit, giving Alger some more space, putting away the sealed vial and left over bandages back into her pack.

Alger took a few experimental steps, his wound still radiate pain if he moves, but nothing he cannot handle, other than that, that bandages doesn't seem to restrict his movements that much, "...I think everything is fine, thank you for addressing my wounds."

Narl was about to reply, but she was interpreted by Nex, with a look of anger and irritation, "Narl! How is the Umbreon doing? Does he need extensive medical care?"

"Uh… No Captain, he is fine, I treated his wounds with some oran berry extracts and covered them with bandages, any luck on finding that Absol?"

"Well if we found her we won't be standing here doing nothing won't we?" He stomped the ground with his spear, "I swear to Arceus that when I finally get my hands on her, I will make sure she can't stand for a whole month before and toss her into jail!"

"Hey Cap, relax a bit will cha'?" Dan doesn't seem to be bothered by this incident a whole lot, "If we did manage to get to her, by one in a million chance, we're the ones gettin' messed up, not her, have you not heard about Team Honor? I heard they got real messed up when they tried to go after her, ya' know? I think the leader is still in bed."

"That is because she got lucky and stole the blessing of a Shrine right under our noses! Do you have an idea how rare those are? Not to mention the fact that decent Interpreters are in low supply!"

All of this chatter only served to raise more questions in Alger's mind, there is still a lot of things to learn about this world, "...Judging by what you two are talking about, is it safe to assume that this Absol has been assaulting people for quite some time?"

"Oh yea, tell me all about it," Dan said, looking down at the Umbreon, "She just appeared out of nowhere one day, barking mad already, though there have been talks about seeing her with another Pokemon back in Central Guild sometime before, pretty sure they are all rumours though. Randomly, she would just suddenly appear somewhere along Route 76, and starting talking to any messagers or travelers she can find, and it is always about the same topics according to the survivors, about her nonexistent family, claiming that she is fine, comments about the targets' fur's conditions before she gets enraged and attack. Crazy as you can get."

"That was all and interesting, thank you Dan for all the useless exposition," Nex came up and pushed Dan to the side, eyes narrowing on Alger, "But now I believe I have some questions for our furred friend over here. Who are you? And why are you doing so close to the border? There have been reports about Tristian Spies' attempting to infiltrate the border, state your name and business now before I decide to pound your face into the ground and take you to the Outpost."

...The current situation certainly got a lot more interesting.

Alger doesn't know what to say, he has no knowledge of what Tristian even is, not to mention the border and the political climate this world he is in, he doubt that anyone here would believe him if he told the truth, and will probably worsen his current situation, he can't lie either, since he got nothing to build his lies from. "...My name is...Alger, I think, but before I answer your question, would you please explain to me what Tristian is?" Alger replied, hoping the plan he has in mind will work.

The trio looked slightly surprised at Alger's response, Nex was the first to respond, the flames around his neck flared up again, "Do you think that I am some kind of idiot you furball? I ain't got times for your games, answer the question before I decide to put you out of commission right here right now! What are you doing here?"

Alger kept his calm composure, "...Sir, as much as I would like to answer your question, but I really do not know what Tristian is, nor do I… really recall what I was doing and where I was headed, I just…" He closed his eyes, faking a pained expression, "...I just… ugh, remember waking up at the bottom of a tree with a pounding headache, walking down that path in a haze for a long time and fighting that Absol. I don't… remember, I don't remember? I don't remember! I don't remember who I am!" He tried to fake the panic and fear in his voice while trotting around in circles with a look of shock and desperation on his face, muttering "Who am I." in a low voice, over and over again, hoping that they will but into his acting.

Narl seemed to believe him, she rushed into his path, making the Umbreon bump into her, stopping his fake panic-induced trance, forcing him to look into her eyes, "Listen, Listen! Calm down, you name is Alger, right? You might be experiencing something called a concussion, a condition that might occur if someone receives a direct and sudden blow to their head, which might result in conditions like memory loss, most of the time it is only temporary, it might be hard for you to deal with it now, but please believe me, your memories will return, it is only a matter of time." Alger only stared at her with a surprised expression, giving a slight nod in response.

Nex however, was less inclined to believe him, raising his spear and pointing at Alger, he spoke with doubt and hostility, "Concussion my ass… Whatever that is, Recruit Narl, I would request you to remove yourself from this filth, and allow me to handle him, the way it should have been done in the first place."

"No," She refused, turning around to face her Captain that dwarfed her, undaunted by his demand, "We don't know if he is a Spy or not, he might even be just a Bastian citizen who got lost! You cannot execute someone just because you think they are lying!"

"How you do know he is not lying?"

"How do you know he is lying then?"

"The point is, you cannot trust someone just because they claim they lost their memory!"

"No, the point is, you cannot kill someone just because you think they are suspicious without any sufficient proof or asking our commanders."

"Are you defying my orders Recruit Narl?"

"No, I am doing the right thing to prevent you from breaking the law."

"..."

They argued on, neither side willing to back down and accept the other side's point. Alger turned his attention to Dan, the Nidoking, expecting him to join in the argument as well at the rate it is heating up, but Dan seem to have no plans of contributing to the argument, he simply sat down, twiddling around with the various components on his armor. "...Shouldn't you do something about this? They are your friends after all, right?" Alger asked, curious why he chose to stand aside.

"Who? What? Me? Oh, don't mind me, I am just here for the ration, whatever happened between those two is none of my concern." Dan scratched his chin, staring blankly into the distance, "There is no reason for all this fuzz over someone who might be from the Tristia region, no one wants this hostility to continue."

Alger wished to inquire a bit further in detail of what he is talking about, but he was cut off by the enraged shouting coming from Nex as he smashed his spear against the ground, "Agh fuck it! Recruit Narl, you will get to bring your precious little friend to the Outpost, but if anything goes wrong, you will take full responsibility, do I make myself clear?!"

"Yes Captain."

"Good." Picking up his spear from the ground, he mentioned the group to follow him down the path, "Get a move on, we are already running late on schedule, and one of you better find a way to present our furred friend over here that you are so insisting on keeping alive in a likable manner so the commander won't have his head."

* * *

"The Patrol party has arrived! Let them in!"

The wooden gates of the Outpost creaked open, inviting the group into the encampment, Nex moved forward to converse with the two guards that opened the gate for them while the rest of the group remained where they were, Alger noticed the guards, a Heracross and a Mightyena respectively, are wearing similarly style armour as the ones Nex, Dan and Narl are wearing, with slight variations so it can fit their body shape.

This Outpost is nothing special in terms of architecture, as he have noticed, even lacking at times, it is merely an area that is encircled by a ring of ditches and sharpened logs lodged firmly into the ground, with a few wooden watchtowers scattered around the encampment, it can definitely withstand and repel minor attacks, but it will surely crumble under a force with sufficient numbers.

The Heracross nodded and muttered something to Nex before he returned to the group, looking satisfied with the conversation he just had, "You are in luck today, Alger, is it? The Commander is here, that means we don't have to toss you into a cell until he returns. And don't even think about trying anything, all you can do, is shut your mouth and follow me, understood? Good." Diverting his attention from the Umbreon, Nex called out to the Nidoking leaning against the Outpost walls, looking uncaring about their interactions, "Hey Dan! You're dismissed for now, me and Narl will handle things from now on, return to the gate by tomorrow morning, we'll head back to camp tomorrow." The Nidoking gave a slight nod and left the group without another word, "Pacifistic Bastard..." The Typhlosion muttered under his breath, gritting his teeth as Dan's figure disappear around the corner of rolls of tents, erected from the ground in neat, tidy rows.

Turning around, he found that Alger and Narl are all staring at him, perhaps the remark that he made was a little bit too loud, his face flashed with a taint of red due to embarrassment, but that quickly turned into anger and irritation as flames being to flare up around his neck again, "What are you two looking at?! Narl! Aren't you suppose to being this Umbreon the Commander? You know where his tent is! Stop standing around and do something, or the Commander wil-"

"I will do what? Captain Nex?"

The flames around his neck instantly died down as he sprung around to greet the newcomer with a salute, "Comm- Commander Hector! Sir! I- I did not expect to you to b- be here, Sir!"

The Commander, evidently a Lucario, nodded in response, with his paws clasped behind his back, Alger noted the armour he is wearing is obviously of better quality than the ones he saw all the guards and soldiers are wearing, made out of a clear white metal held together by rivets, covering most of his torso, legs and arms, leaving an opening for his chest spike. The same symbol found on Nex's chest piece is also etched into the shoulder pads of his armor, which Alger presumed to be the symbol of this, if not all armed forces in this region.

"Where else would you expect me to be? Captain Nex?" The Lucario spoke in a calm tone, his silvery eyes giving a glare that made Nex shudder involuntarily, scanning through the trio in front of him, eventually stopping on the unfamiliar Umbreon in the middle, "...And what is the meaning of all this… commotion at the gates?"

"Sir, we just arrived and I was expecting you to be in your tent, please forgive my rudeness!" Nex apologized, with evident fear in his voice.

"Be wary of your surroundings, Captain Nex, you never know who is listening." Commander Hector seems to be letting Nex off the hook this time, "But, please explain to me why have you brought an Umbreon, who obvious not a military personnel, into a military complex?" He inquired, narrowing his eyes on Alger, who met his gaze head on, undaunted.

"Well Sir, you see, as we are continuing our patrol along Route 76, we encounter this Umbreon fighting off an Absol that has been jumping messengers and military personnel along that route for quite some time, Recruit Narl here patched him up as I questioned what he is doing so close to the border. The Umbreon claimed he has lost his memory and rejected the accusations of being a spy, insisting that he doesn't remember anything besides his name and waking up under a tree with a headache. And after a… debate between Recruit Narl and I on what we should do with him, we agreed it is better to let the Commander decide, hence why he is here."

"I see..." Commander Hector nodded in acknowledgment, "Recruit Narl, was Captain Nex's recitation of the event accurate?"

The Sandslash's grip around her haversack tightened as the sharp, brown quills that are on her back flattened against her, "Ye-Yes… Commander Hector, what Captain Nex said was… true..."

"Good, just verifying, that is all." The Jackal replied, turning his attention back onto Alger, who is still watching all of this silence, "Captain Nex, have you searched the pouches on his side? If you haven't, now would be a good time to do it."

"Uhh, no, Sir. Right away." Nex stepped up to him and ripped the pouches clean off the Umbreon in one swoop, earning a surprised yelp from the Umbreon, dumping its contents on the ground. A couple of notebooks with a plain cover fell onto the ground, followed by some berries and a couple of ripped pages, the notebooks immediately caught the attention of the Typhlosion as he tossed the now empty pouches back to Alger, "Now what do we have here?" He bent over and picked up one of the notebooks from the ground, flipping it open, only to stare at it with a blank look, "Uh… I can't read most of this… Commander Hector? If you may? I am not very well educated."

"Of course." The Lucario accepted the open notebook with one of his paws, he skimmed through a few lines as a look of slight astonishment went across his face, "This certainly makes things… a bit more interesting." Closing the notebook with one paw, he eyed Alger again, if this Umbreon is indeed what he thinks he is, then he is in luck today. "Mister…?" He paused, handing the notebook back to Nex.

"...Alger"

"Mister Alger, do you recall anything related to the word Interpreter?"

Alger shook his head, "...As I said a million times before, I do not remember anything besides my name and where I woke up, I do recall Captain Nex here mentioning something like that when we first encountered."

"Hmm..." Commander Hector rubbed his chin, the memory loss can cause some problems, but this Umbreon might just be useful, he just need to verify his guess, and he knows the perfect way to do so. "Recruit Narl, would you mind heading to the Command Post and bring the stone tablet we unearthed from the Ruined Shrine not far from this Outpost a few month ago? Remember to bring the transcript along as well."

"Yes...Sir..." Narl saluted the Commander before dashing off into the encampment. It was quite a few minutes before she came rushing back, panting and carrying a small, black slate of stone and a scroll between her long claws.

"Your service is much appreciated, Recruit Narl." Hector looked down at the panting Sandslash and plucked the scrolls from between her claws, opening it in front of him. "Now, Mister Alger, if you may, try your best to see if you can read the writing on this tablet, and tell me what you can understand."

Alger, feeling a bit dubious about the Lucario's request, moved forward to look at the tablet a bit more closely. Its surface is surely not very well polished, rough and uninteresting, giving out a dull hue under the sunlight, but every inch of the surface is covered with symbols carved into the stone, most of them do not make any sense to him, but there are a few lines here and there that he do recognize, albeit written in a very strange font.

"...I think I read: ''Raise', 'Trapped', 'Conflicted', 'Freeing something from imprisonment,' and 'Blessed'. Is any of that correct?"

Hector nodded and retracted the scroll back into its original rolled up position, a mischievous look appeared in his eye, "Well, it seems like the problem here is solved. Sabel!" He suddenly called out into the air, some seconds later, the group saw something wrapping its short, purple claws around Hector's ankle, poking its head from behind the Lucario, revealing its large, gym stone like eyes, a Sableye. "Yesss?" The Sableye whispered, looking up, "Commander Hector? What do you need from old Sabel?"

"Oh, nothing major, I just wish to confirm that we have received a report about a missing Interpreter Apprentice yesterday." The Lucario said with a flat tone, handing the scroll back to Narl, who was surprised by what he said, in fact, everyone is, even Sabel himself.

"We… we do?" Sabel was puzzled by Hector's seemingly nonsensical inquiry, he was about to ask if he had misremembered something, but the look the Lucario had in his eyes made him change his mind, "Uhmm…. I mean, we do! Old Sabel remembers that report!"

"Excellent! The name of the missing apprentice?"

"It is Alger, Sir."

"Species?"

"An Umbreon, Sir."

"Appearance?"

"Exactly like the one before us, Sir."

"Time and location is disappearance?"

"Yesterday, along Route 76, Sir."

"Then, Mister Alger, I must apologize for our troop's disrespectful actions towards your property and yourself. Please, do not take any of this personally, in these times, one can't be too careful. Captain Nex, you will be escorting Mister Alger back to the Interpreter Academy in the Centre Guild tomorrow, I will be sending a message to Centre to inform that their… lost cadet has been found. Any objections?"

"Yes, Sir, actually, quite a few." The Typhlosion stepped up towards Hector, trying his best to prevent himself from blowing up at his Commander, "I don't know what you are trying to do here, Sir, but that Umbreon is not an Interpreter, he has to be a spy! He needs to be locked up a-"

The Lucario moved faster than anyone here expected, appearing in front of Nex in what seems to be an instant and decked him right across the left side of his face, knocking the pained Typhlosion onto the ground.

Hector, standing over the fallen Captain, paws still raised in the air, "Captain Nex, are you questioning my judgment and decisions?"

"Ugh… No Sir… I was merely being cautious..." Nex coughed, still trying to recover from that sudden and forceful blow.

"Very well then, my decision remains unchanged, your squad will escort Mister Alger to Centre Guild tomorrow morning, and if anything happens to him, I will have your head. Do I make myself clear?"

Nex's eyes seemed to glimmer with a baleful rage, but his expression remained as unchanged as he replied,

"Yes, Sir."


	8. Act 2: The March

Alger woke up to the sound of low mumbles outside, the voices easily pierced through the thin walls of the tent, reaching his rather large, bushy ears. The Umbreon groaned and pushed himself up from the straw bed, uncovering his face from beneath his paws, he opened his eyes, blinked and opened them again as the blurry surroundings finally came into focus, for a second he forgot where he was, or how he got here in the first place. Then, everything is processed as he recalled yesterday's events that lead to where he is now, he is still in this foreign world, resting within a Military Outpost, waiting to be transferred to somewhere called the Interpreter Academy, whatever that might be.

He hopped onto the ground, the crude straw bed creaking from the mild motions, the bandages on his side straining against his leg and neck from his movements, but the wounds beneath no longer hurts, presumably healed over night as he expected, though it is probably for the best for him to keep the bandages on, he doesn't know how fast wounds are supposed to heal in this world, attracting more attention in this world is the last thing he want, he's already got enough to deal with, being mistaken as an "Interpreter" and escorted back to "Central Guild" like a valuable cargo, he can't tell if that is good or bad for him, nor does has he quite figured out what an "Interpreter" is.

From what he experienced yesterday, alongside with little bits of information he got out of some of the Outpost guards before he was escorted away to this tent, an Interpreter is someone who can read this ancient language that exists in this world, but to what goal? Alger does not know, he only knows it is a rare and valuable title, valuable enough for the Commander to consider him as an asset, even when he is just a random Umbreon who claims to have lost his memory.

Another thing that kept on nagging him at the back of his mind is a short conversation between him and Sabel last night, who acts as some sort of filing staff here, Sabel notified him that the way back to Central Guild, or as he called it, "Bastilia", will take at least a day, and it most likely won't be a smooth journey due to the "increasing security concerns", so Alger should getting ready for a bumpy journey. But he never elaborated on what the concern really is, only saying it is nothing major to worry about even when he specifically asked him to explain it.

Alger shook his head, trying to rid of these thoughts from his mind, now is not the time to think about these things, things that he doesn't have the answer to, he will only end up wasting his time. Getting ready for the day ahead should be his priority, and a simple breakfast should be the place to start, turning his attention to the leather pouch laying on the wooden desk positioned near the end of the straw bed, there should be some berries left over in the pouch, if he recalls correctly.

Hopping onto the basic wooden chair, he unpacked the battered leather pouch in front of him, emptying its contents onto the table, a half of a dozen Oran Berries rolled out of the pouch alongside his notebooks, they seem to be in alright condition, well, as decent as they can get after being dumped on the ground, it is not much, but they will have to do for now. Brushing off the small specks of dirt on the berries' surface with psychic, Alger munched down and begin quickly to devour the hand full of berries.

The meal is basic and fairly quick, it wasn't exactly filling, but it will last him the day. Cleaning up any remaining berry bits from the table, he repacked all of his belongings back into the pouch and fastened it around his midsection, still a quite difficult process even with the aid of psychic powers and so many practices over the months. After making sure it won't fall off, he padded towards the entrance of the tent, the quiet muttering that woke him up is still present, and getting louder with every step he is taking towards the entrance, it seems whoever is speaking is right outside his tent, but he still couldn't make out what exactly is being said due to the words being muffled by the walls of the tent. Brushing past the cloth hanging above the entrance, he stepped out into the open air.

"I'm telling you, this guy's hiding something!"

Alger blinked in confusion at the sight in front of him and shouting that assaulted his ears as soon as he left the tent: Captain Nex was right in front of him, facing away from the Umbreon while pointing towards the general direction of the tent, not knowing that Alger has exited the tent, but the two other Pokemon he is facing towards, Dan and Narl, saw the Umbreon staring at them. Dan only looked at the Umbreon or a split second and gave him a slight nod before returning his attention to Captain Nex, not telling the Captain that the person he is scrutinizing is right behind him, Narl on the other hand, was willing to speak out as she slowly raised one of her claws "Um… Captain Nex?"

The Typhlosion seems to be pretty riled up by what they were talking about beforehand as he dropped his arm back to his side and glared at the Sandslash, looming over her, "You. Recruit Narl, if what you're going to say revolves, or just simply involves defending that Umbreon in any way, one more word on that topic, and I shall have you court martialed for defying an order issued by a senior officer, I've heard enough from you today, do I make myself clear? Now, what is it you wish to discuss?"

Narl recoiled at his outlash, only nodding in response before pointing at Alger who is behind him with one of her claws, "Captain, you… might want to turn around."

Nex was a bit puzzled by her request at first, only to register the implication of her request mere seconds later as he sprang around to meet the Umbreon head on, the realization that Alger might have heard most of his comments about him dawned upon him. Gritting his teeth and balling his paws, the surprise and humiliation soon boiled into anger, "So our friend here heard what I said, so what? If you're expecting an apology, I'm sorry to inform you that you be won't getting one. Mister Alger, I'm a soldier and I have my orders, but just because I'm your escort back to Bastilia, doesn't mean I have a single shred of trust or sympathy for you. Mark my words, if you so just try anything funny, or attempt to escape on our way there, I'll take matters into my own hands. Understand?"

Alger knew that Nex never fully bought into his acting and the claims he doesn't remember anything, that Lucario, Commander Hector isn't exactly helping with the situation either, instead of actually trying to verify his identity, he fabricated the fact that he is an "Interpreter" lost in the wild in front of everyone, solely basing his judgement on the fact that he can write and read some parts of the mysterious stone tablet, if he were in Nex's position, he would be suspicious of this newcomer as well. But he is not, and given his attitude towards him, he will have to consider the possibility of defending himself against Nex. "...I understand that, and your caution towards me, but I would rather you stop treating me like a villain when I have done nothing wrong, what is the problem you see in me that bothers you?"

Nex only huffed,"The problem? Oh do I have a problem now, the problem is that I can't figure you out. I'll treat you the way I see fit until the truth has been revealed. Enough on that, I trust you have been paying attention to what Commander Hector said yesterday about our schedule today?"

"...I believe so, aren't we heading to somewhere named… Bastilia?" Alger replied with a hint of hesitation.

"We're headed to The Interpreter's Academy to be precise, a place where you supposedly belong, but first we are stopping at a small town named Devania to restock on supplies and grab some rest, I hope you are not too soft for a few days of traveling, because we're relatively soon. Got everything you need there, furball?" Nex said with a smirk, leaning forward, his eyes bearing straight into Alger's.

"...I appreciate your concern, or rather the attempt to intimidate me, but I think I can handle it. And yes, I got everything I need. Shall we leave then?" Alger doesn't see any reason for him to be scared of Nex, not only is he quick to anger, he is also arrogant to a certain extent, neither does his team members agrees with his actions, Narl had openly spoken out against him on multiple occasions, while Dan, on the other hand, doesn't seem to care about what is happening all that much.

The Typhlosion snorted in disdain, "Trying to be tough? We will see how tough you are after a day. Narl! Dan!" He called out, nearly startling the two Pokemon behind him, "You two got the supplies, right?"

"Ey, that's right Cap!" The Nidoking said, yawning. "Narl here's got all the medical supplies, and I got all the necessities right here." He patted a large sack next to him, held close by a rope.

"Excellent." Nex clapped his paws together, "Commander Hector wish to speak with us before we leave, so let's move out people! We all know he doesn't like waiting! You two stay close to Mister Alger, wouldn't want any accidents happening to him now would we?" He ordered, now leading the group deeper into the Outpost.

Dan simply swung the sack over his shoulders and followed his Captain, completely ignoring his orders to stay close to Alger, only Narl seems to have listened, accompanying the Umbreon as the group trod through the stirring Outpost.

The Outpost is… well, pretty much silent besides the sound of the rough gravel paved roads crunching under their footsteps, Alger looked around as he followed Nex, and strangely enough, he failed to spot any other Pokemon with the exceptions of a few patrolling along the wooden walkway attached to the wooden walls of the Outpost, it appears most of the personal living in this military complex is still asleep, which comes as quite a surprise to him, normally he would expect soldiers to be waking up relatively early and getting ready for the routine training, it is now pretty late in the morning and yet they are still snorting away in their tents, he knew that there is something wrong with the military in this country given his experiences with Nex and his team and Commander Hector, this only served to further solidify his doubts and confusion.

They are coming up to a medium sized clearing amidst all the tents, one side of the clearing is lined up with wooden benches, or at least it is what those crude wooden structures resemble to be, most of them are just several planks of wood held together by the uneven nails protruding out in all directions from the bench, a couple of logs are strewn about near the benches, roughly varnished and cut, with a few pieces of bark still attached to the logs. A stone camp pit lay abandoned on the other side of the clearing, surrounded by stacks of firewood, sparks flew out of the small pile of red ashes in the center, still emitting its feeble warmth into the frigid morning air.

Nex marched across the clearing without any hesitation, leading the group straight towards one of the few larger structures standing within this Outpost, but it is still nothing impressive, it just appears to be an enlarged version of the tents around them, the green canvas is held up by columns of solid wood, reinforced and nailed tightly to the ground by ropes and wooden pegs, a Combusken was standing guard beside the cloth covered entrance, eyeing the group as they approached, his spear leaning carelessly against the tent canvas. The fire type pulled the cloth curtain to the side as the group approached to make way for them, not even bothering to salute his senior officer, Alger expected Nex to at least scold the Combusken over his sloppiness as a guard and the act of insolence, but much to his surprise, the Captain simply glowered at the Combusken before entering the tent, not even stopping to discipline him, Dan couldn't care less about the whole incident, he just stroll past the Combusken without even making a gesture, Narl just choose to stay quiet about it, and Alger decided to do the same.

The interior of the tent can be described as in a state of half organized mess, the canvas walls are covered in numerous papers and maps to a point where not even an inch of the green canvas was visible. The rest of the tent wasn't faring any better, the room is littered with mounds of paper held down by paperweights, splotches of ink are splattered across the surfaces of a few mounds, while the ones that are discarded are cast onto the ground without care, some tore to pieces, some crumpled into a ball, creating a mess that spilled out all over the dirt floors alongside empty ink bottles and used writing utensils. Finished scrolls were stacked up and held tightly together by ropes and piled up against the table legs and the canvas walls, dangerously close to the jumble of paper and ink that has spiraled throughout this tiny tent. A shoddy bookshelf was standing in one of the corners, bursting with scrolls and books threatening to spill out all over the floors.

There are only two Pokemon present in this mess of a tent, Sabel, that bizarre Sableye is currently standing on top of one of the shelves of that bookshelf, sorting through the entangled mass of pages and parchment, Commander Hector himself is bending over one of the tables, tracing over an expanded map with his paws while muttering something to the Bisharp beside him, the Lucario's metal armour pieces have been replaced by a simple gray cap with a rune like symbol at the front of his head, the Bisharp on the other hand doesn't seem to be wearing any clothing, he simply stood beside Hector, hands behind his back, paying close attention to what the Commander is saying.

"Commander Hector, Mister Alger is here, as per your orders." Nex marched across the room and saluted to Hector, the rest of the group trailing behind him.

The Lucario looked up from the table and nodded in acknowledgment, "Much appreciated, Captain Nex, now, Mister Alger." He leaned over the table, addressing Alger directly, "First, I must apologize for the lackluster housing situation in this Outpost, this Outpost is still fairly new, and the construction materials for more permanent structures hasn't arrived yet, I hope you won't hold anything against us for this infraction."

Whatever Alger was expecting him to say, it wasn't that. "...Of course not Commander Hector, I don't see why I should, the tent is fine."

"Well…" He paused, searching for the right words to say, "Mister Alger, since you lost your… memory, you obviously are no longer aware of the appropriate reception the Interpreters should receive, but that is no excuse for us to mistreat you, I thank you for your understanding of our situation, tough times for all of us."

"Now." Hector straightened himself, his tone of voice growing more serious, "Mister Alger, I am certain that you have questions, many questions in fact, about what you are seeing, about yourself, about this world, but I am afraid that I am not in the position to answer any of them, but I assure you the Headmaster of the Interpreter's Academy can answer those questions with the utmost precision, I will however ask you to refrain from inquiring any further on topic until you have arrived at the academy, for your own protection, that is."

"...I...don't think I understand, why can't you answer my questions? Why can't I ask other people about it until I reach the Academy?" Hector's words raised some suspicion from the Umbreon, he can understand Hector saying he is not in the position to answer his questions, but this? And to what cause?

Hector gave the Umbreon a reassuring smile, gentling tapping the table, "It is nothing serious, it is just that there has been… rumors lately, rumors regarding the army and sometimes the King himself, we wouldn't want you taking belief in false information now would we? Considering your...rather vulnerable state of mind and susceptible to influence. We just wish the best for your well being, that is all."

"...If there are rumors, wouldn't it be safer if you just told me what exactly do the rumors entails so I can identify a rumor when I hear one?" Alger pointed out, trying to see if he can dig at least a little bit of information out of the Lucario.

"A fine idea, Mister Alger. However, this brings us back to my original point, I am not of position to answer anything, if something is to happen due to the information I provided, the consequences will be severe for me, I hope you can understand." He swiftly denied Alger's chance to learn a bit more about this world, even just from rumors.

Now switching his attention to Nex, the Typhlosion has been fidgeting on the side, grumbling something to himself, not pleased by the current conversation, "Captain Nex? I trust you are prepared for your mission?"

"Of course Commander, we have gathered the necessary supplies for this mission, ready to depart on your command."

"Then consider that command to be issued now. " Hector straightened himself, addressing everyone in front of him, "I will be waiting for the words of your safe arrival from the Academy, don't fail me."

"I won't." Nex said and breathed in deep, "Alright! You heard the Commander, let's move out! We got ground to cover!" With that, he stormed out of the tent, the rest of the group followed suit.

As the muffled footsteps of the group gradually faded into stillness, the Bisharp, who was silent during all this time, suddenly spoke up, "I will never understand why you have chosen to help him, Hector."

The disapproval in the Bisharp's voice didn't seem to bother Hector one bit, he shook his head and smiled in response, "I know that you are opposed to his plans, Zander, and I can understand your sentiment. But the thing is, we are fighting a war, and he is willing to offer us a path of least resistance, something that the King would never agree to, it is always death or glory to him. Tell me Zander, my old friend, would you like to see the blood of our troops spilled over a conflict for nothing?"

"No, I don't want to, but I don't trust hi-"

"There we have it, if we help him, he will help us, and bring an end to this conflict." He looked down at the map on the table, scribble with lines and words, "We will fulfill our part of the promise, and let's hope he will fulfill his."

(Link Break)

Stone after stone, they etched deep into the earth, forming a path, a river of rolling sands, stones and gravel, baked under the harsh sun, stretching out into the horizon in front and behind as far as his eye can see, cutting through the forest, through the lines of repeating trees and bushes, never veering, never changing.

And step after step, they marched on.

There are times when he wasn't sure if they are progressing at all, as if they are just stuck in a maze, a loop, unaware of the efforts they are making are all in vain. With all the repeating landscape and the lack of a landmark, he wouldn't be surprised if they are actually in a maze.

It has been hours since they left the Outpost, and they have done nothing but marching down this lonely path, not even stopping to take a break on the road side, the sun was still rising when they left, casting its welcoming glow upon half frozen soil, but now, it has become what is practically a raging yellow inferno, seeping its warmth into every crack and cranny on the surface, eating away at his strength. The black fur that was supposed to protect him against the elements only served to worsen the situation, absorbing much-unneeded heat, pouring into his veins, swirling against his brain, dragging him down into a heat induced lightheadedness. He licked his lips, trying to wet his mouth to reduce the thirst, but even his saliva is thick, almost like a paste.

The other members of the party aren't doing well either, Narl is panting out of exhaustion, but still able to keep herself together, Dan looks like he is about to pass out, arid air assaulted at his lungs relentless, the poor Nidoking is stumbling along the cobbled road, trying to keep himself on course with the group, the sack of supplies is still on his back, swaying from to side from each heavy step, he has now fallen to back of the group, maybe he is too exhausted to keep up with the pace of the Nex, but Alger suspects he is just trying to get away from the amount of heat the Typhlosion is generating on top of the amount that is already present in the air. He seems to be the only member of the party that doesn't appear to be bothered by the heat, or the fact that every single member of his party is slowly melting into a puddle on the ground.

"...Captain Nex, I think a break should be in order if we want to continue any further tomorrow." Enduring the slight dizziness, Alger spoke up, he doesn't care if he is doing this just to spite him, or if this is just how he handles things, he won't last much longer if this keeps up, nor will Dan and Narl, judging by how they are faring.

The other seems to agree with him as well, "Yeah… Captain, we're not in a rush or anything, and we can for sure reach the town of Devania before sunset, I don't see why we cannot take a break." Narl said, carefully wiping the sweat off her forehead with her long claws so she won't accidentally cut herself.

Dan's response was a bit more direct, he just slumped over to the side of the road and threw himself below the shade of a tree, being careful to not damage the spikes on his back and tossing the sack of supplies beside him, "Damn right, Cap, we ain't gonna be much of a use if we were nothing but a piece of a dried up meat on the road, and the Umbreon ain't gonna be much of a use if he just dropped dead right here."

The Typhlosion stopped upon hearing their complaints, slowly turning around to face the group, arms crossed in front of his chest and sneering with satisfaction, "What is this, what is this? Insubordination? You are all under my command, and my orders were clear, we are not stopping until we reach Devania. You." He pointed at Dan, "Get back in line Dan, or we'll be leaving you here, I'm not having any of your nonsense today."

But Dan is determined to hold his ground, instead of following Nex's orders, he simply laid back against the tree even more, not even looking at Nex, "No can do Cap, I'm getting myself some rest that I deserve and need, of course you are free to leave me behind, but I am the one with this sack of supplies~." He lifted the bag up for a moment before putting it back down again, "I doubt even you would last long without a source of food or clean water."

The smirk on his face slowly faded away as he realized the mistake he made by letting Dan handle all of their essential supplies, "Recruit Dan, I don't think you realize that Insubordination is an offense punishable by-"

"Yea yea yea whatever, name one person that has been executed or even punished for insubordination, all the talk yet never able to carry it out." The Nidoking said, rolling his eyes at the threat his Captain made, not even a slight concern in his voice.

"Um… Captain Nex?" Narl suddenly spoke up, eye darting between Dan and Nex, unsure who she should focus on.

"Not a word from you Recruit!" The anger contained in Nex's voice made both her and Alger flinch back, effectively silencing her.

Alger leaned in a bit closer to the Sandslash, he never expected things to turn out like this, "...Does this happen often between them?"

"Uh…No, not really" She replied, remembering all the arguments that occurred between them "There are… constant bickering and disagreements, but this is the first time something got this serious…"

Nex took a deep breath, regaining his composure, "I am going to count to three, so you better get off your ass and get back in line before I do things my way."

"You are welcome to try."

"One."

Dan didn't move.

"Two."

Dan didn't move.

"...Three."

Dan moved.

He sprung up from his resting position and got back onto his feet, not forgetting to grab the sack of supplies, holding it out in front of him, his other claw became enveloped in flames as he moved it dangerously close to the sack, freezing everyone on the spot.

Nex was shocked, needless to say, "Recruit Dan? What the hell do you think you are doing? Drop that supply, now!"

"Come on Cap, what's the matter? Scared?" He taunted," I thought you are doing things your way. Come on, just take one step, and this sack of supplies will be scattered into the air, going up in flames."

Nex narrowed his eyes, "You. are making a mistake."

"Oh really now? Take one step and you will be making a mistake." Dan brought his flaming claw a bit closer to the sack, scorching the fabric on the outside. "I am certain without these supplies, none of us would be able to make it back in these conditions, besides you of course. Can you imagine the reaction when Commander Hector hears that the entire escort team has perished due to their supplies being burnt up by someone? And their captain, the only one who survived, is a fire type, even idiots can make that connection. The Press is gonna have a field day over this, I can already see the title, 'Crazed Captain Burns Supplies and Kills Escort Team.' I wonder what will happen to you then."

"You wouldn't dare." Nex retorted, but in reality, he doesn't know if he will do it or not.

"Wanna find out Cap? Come on, all I am asking is just one break, give us some time, drink something, rest a little bit and we will be back on the road, "

Nex was furious, paws aching from clenching his fist too hard, putting his best effort to stop himself from just pounce on Dan, spots of flames begin to flare up across his neck, almost burning the spear strapped to his back, his face was distorted with suppressed rage, exuding an unrivaled animosity, consuming, powerful. Never once in his life has he been cornered like this, by his own team member, someone that was supposed to follow his orders, someone that was supposed to be his pawn. But… what other viable choices does he have besides complying with his demand? He is unwilling to test his luck with Dan, that Nidoking might be a lazy fool, but he is a decent soldier that means things when he says it. Glaring at Dan and gritting his teeth, he admitted his defeat, "This. Ain't. Over. You are granted your damn breaks, 10 minutes, and that is it, Understood?"

The flames on the Nidoking's claws instantly extinguished, "Roger that Cap! Thank god! I was getting tired from just standing here." He then flopped back onto the ground, untying the cloth sack, rummaging through its contents to find what he needs, "Hey you two! Narl! Alger!" He called out, "Quit stand around like a statue, I know that was amazing but there is no need to remain there after the show is over, get in here under the shade."

Alger gladly accepted the invitation and trotted over and laid down in the shade, his natural habitat, the cool grass brushed against his fur comfortably, gradually lowering his body temperature.

Narl just stared at Dan and sighed, the Nidoking is going to get into so much trouble after this mission due to this little stunt he pulled off, shaking her head, she joined them under the shade, seating herself next to Alger.

"Jackpot~" Dan started humming once he has found what he was looking for, the wooden water canteens, he brought out one for himself, passed one to Narl, and toss another towards Alger, "Here! Think fast!"

Alger… wasn't really expecting him to just toss him the water canteen out of the blue, the canteen flew through the air in an arc and struck the Umbreon on his forehead, causing him to yelp in pain as the canteen fell onto the grassy ground. Alger turned his head and glared at Dan, rubbing his forehead with his paws, "...A little bit of a warning would be nice, and before you say anything, the phrase 'Think fast' doesn't count as one."

"Yeesh..." Dan give a few nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head, "Yeah, sorry about that, thought you're paying attention." Going back to the business at hand, he uncapped the wooden canteen and started drinking from the container in large gulps, water begins to drizzle down from both sides of his thin weathered lips in thin streams.

The sight of this made himself realize how thirsty he really is, his dry and cracked throat is yearning for water. Picking the canteen up with psychic, he uncapped the canteen and brought it up to his muzzle, letting the liquid within trickle into his mouth. Getting a slip of water in this temperature is a heavenly feeling, he can feel the coolness run over his throat and down his asparagus, making him involuntarily shudder.

Meanwhile, Dan, now properly rehydrated, fixed the cap back onto his canteen and brought out another one, waving it at Captain Nex, who is has seated himself under a tree opposite to the group, "Hey Cap! Need some water?"

The Typhlosion didn't respond, glaring daggers at Dan.

"...I will take that as a no..."

Taking another gulp before setting his canteen down, Alger figured now might be a good time for him to get some answers to his questions, especially regarding Dan and Nex, from what he has witnessed, the relationship between these two is...poor, to say the least, "...Narl? Can I ask you something?"

"Hmm?" She turned to look at Alger, not expecting him to ask her questions, "Uh… sure, I will answer what I can, but I suggest you to save your questions for the Headmaster in the Interpreter Academy, I know you have a lot of questions about what you are seeing and hearing due to lost memory, but trust me, he will do a much better job at explaining than I can. And... Commander Hector said so..."

Alger shook his head, keeping his voice low"...It is not a question of that sort, but I will keep your advice in mind, it is about Dan and Nex." He said, glancing at the fuming Typhlosion not too far away from them, "Are they always like this?"

"Oh, I uh… wasn't expecting you to ask about that," She cast Dan a quick side glance, making sure that he isn't listening in to their little conversation, "I guess I can explain to you the premise for their... ill attitude towards one and other. As you might have noticed, Captain Nex is a… soldier with an exceptional sense of duty, fanatical, if you want to call him that, just don't let him hear you... On the other hand, Dan is … just here for the sake of being here, he is a good fighter, don't get me wrong, it is just… he doesn't really have a sense of duty. I think you can see where the problem arises."

"...Indeed I can, but if Dan doesn't have a sense of duty, and doesn't have any desire to in the army, why is he in the army then?" Alger pointed out, it seems puzzling to him why someone would be somewhere he doesn't want to be.

Narl shrugged, "He doesn't have any desire to leave either, I asked him before, about why he joined, he just told me that he is just here for the ration, saying things like there is nothing he can or willing to do in society to earn a living, and in the army you don't have to worry about anything."

His puzzlement only grew, "...Aren't you guys in a state of war with some other country? Was it Tristia or something? Why did he say you don't have to worry about anything in the army?"

"...Yes, Tristia." She doesn't appear to be very comfortable talking about this subject, fidgeting her claws, "Look, I don't know enough to make a claim about the whole situation, yes, we are at war, but the thing is, nothing has happened for years, nothing major at least, but… we are still conscripting people despite that, it is puzzling to say the least, I never quite understood wh-" She suddenly stopped, actively diverted her gaze from Alger, looking out into the open. "I have said too much."

This only served to further confuse the Umbreon, she didn't say anything that comes across to him as sensitive or out of the ordinary, besides the fact that they are still conscripting people, which is a public process and everyone knows it is happening, "...I don't believe I understand, you didn't say anything sensitive."

"Please, stop, I'm really not supposed to talk about it with anyone outside of the military." Narl insisted, not wanting to dwell on this subject, her right claw clawing against the ground, gradually creating a small ditch.

"...If you so insist, I won't pursue any further on the subject." Alger replied, he didn't mean to cause her stress, but her reaction is way out of the ordinary.

No one said anything for a few minutes, letting the time pass by in silence, until Nex decided that is quite enough rest for now as he stood up and shouted, "Alright you lazy worms, times up! Get your asses off the ground and get moving! We have ground to cover!"

The booming voice of Nex took them both by surprise, Narl jumped in shock while Alger almost lost the psychic grip he had on his canteen, "For the good of us both, don't talk to anyone about this." Narl muttered to Alger as she got up, storing her canteen into the haversack by her side. Alger followed suit, squeezing the canteen into his mostly empty pouch.

"What? Come on now! It is barely even 10 minutes!" Dan protested, surprising Alger that he still has the nerve to protest after what he just pulled off.

But the glare in Nex's eyes was enough to shut him up, filled with murderous intent, topped off with a sprinkle of anger.

Dan visibly wilted under the gaze, not a single word of complaint came from him again as he jammed his own canteen back into the sack, tightening it then swung it onto his back, just like before, not wanting to test his luck again.

"Everyone ready? Good! Let's get moving then!" Nex proclaimed as he stepped onto the road, as the group returned to their long march, towards the town of Devania.


End file.
